Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Becky Ziegler-Otis – ASCA 2023 Recap: Topics, Trends, and News
157 Plays1 year ago
The Annual ASCA Conference took place May 17-20th, 2023, bringing together 1,200+ ASC experts, professionals, and vendors from around the country. Over the course of four days, attendees explored the latest advancements and trends, heard from an impressive lineup of speakers, and networked with likeminded individuals who deeply care about the success and longevity of the ASC industry.
This week’s episode is dedicated to recapping the biggest takeaways from #ASCA2023, including a conversation with Becky Zeigler-Otis, industry veteran and one of ASCA’s Board of Directors.
Hot Topics:
· Anesthesia – As more cases migrate to an outpatient setting, the topic and debate around anesthesia have naturally followed suit.
· Technology – Innovative tech will continue to play a pivotal role in transforming every aspect of the surgery center experience.
· Culture & Inclusivity – The ASC ecosystem encompasses a wide range of stakeholders, so fostering a culture of belonging and embracing diversity is a must.
News:
· National Medical Billing Services rebranded to nimble solutions.
· Kathy Bryant former CEO of ASCA, was honored with the Nap Gary Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the ASC community.
Articles Mentioned:
ASCA 2023 Recap: Hot Topics, Rebrands, and Awards
National Medical Billing Services rebrands as nimble solutions
Kathy Bryant Receives Nap Gary Award
Brought to you by HST Pathways.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Episode
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to This Week in Surgery Centers. If you're in the ASC industry, then you're in the right place. Every week, we'll start the episode off by sharing an interesting conversation we had with our featured guests, and then we'll close the episode by recapping the latest news impacting surgery centers. We're excited to share with you what we have, so let's get started and see what the industry's been up to.
ASCA Conference Overview
00:00:27
Speaker
Hi, everyone. Here's what you can expect on today's episode. This episode is going to be all about the annual Ask a Conference that took place in Louisville.
00:00:37
Speaker
a few weeks back from May 17th to the 20th. As most of you likely know, this conference brings together experts, professionals, and vendors from the industry to explore latest advancements and trends. And this year has always featured an impressive lineup of speakers and sessions and provided the perfect platform for networking and catching up.
Insights from Becky Ziegler Otis
00:00:58
Speaker
So what we'll do first is have a conversation with Becky Ziegler Otis about the conference.
00:01:04
Speaker
Becky is on ASCA's board of directors. She's the assistant executive director of the ASC quality collaboration and is also a consultant for ASCs. So seeing the conference from her perspective was really insightful. We'll then end the episode with the biggest takeaways from the show, emerging trends, and some exciting news that came out from the conference as well. Hope everyone enjoys the episode and here's what's going on this week in surgery centers.
00:01:36
Speaker
Hi, Becky. Welcome to the podcast. Hi, Erica. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of the podcast today. I appreciate it. Yeah, I'm excited to do the Ask a Recap with you. But before we jump in, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? Oh, sure. So my name is Becky Zieglerotis, and I've been involved in the ASE industry for about 15 years. I worked as an ASE administrator for about 13 of them, and then just most recently have decided to try some other things in the ASE industry.
00:02:06
Speaker
And so I currently work as the executive assistant director with the ASC Quality Collaboration. I do a little bit of consulting and I work with the surgery center in Wausau, Wisconsin as well.
00:02:17
Speaker
Awesome. That's great. So obviously the show was a couple of weeks ago. I know how much time and effort goes into planning a show of that size. And I can't even imagine from the vendor perspective, we put so much into it. So I can only imagine from your end, and Aska and the board and everything that goes into it. What did you think of the conference as a whole this year?
Conference Session Highlights
00:02:41
Speaker
I thought the conference was great.
00:02:44
Speaker
And I think it was great in my mind from really three different perspectives. One, I would say from the sessions. I mean, what do I mean by that? I think the sessions were spot on this year. They covered what is so important in the ASC industry right now, covering things like staffing and not just from the area of staffing per se, but inclusion and diversity and tricks and tips in staff engagement. Just a lot of thought provoking things.
00:03:12
Speaker
The exhibitors this year, I thought there was a plethora of exhibitors and they were so well balanced. We had exhibitors from accreditation organizations, supply companies, capital equipment lending, benchmarking. And so I thought that was fabulous as well. And then also I thought the exhibit hall was so well laid out. It was really a nice venue at that Louisville Convention Center.
00:03:37
Speaker
It provided ample room for individuals to go from the different exhibitors and to put the different social events in there. It was well laid out. It was a great conference, great conference. Yeah, I agree. And you touched upon this a little bit with staffing and some of the other topics that were covered in the sessions, but between the things at the exhibit hall, things going on in the exhibit hall and things with the sessions and
00:04:00
Speaker
just what kind of the buzz around the conference. Were there any common themes and topics this year that you noticed?
Key Themes: Anesthesia and Staffing
00:04:10
Speaker
So when I thought back about that, I really think the theme of the pressing issues in the ASC industry and what are those pressing issues? Anesthesia. There were sessions on anesthesia, which I thought were fabulous. When I talk about staffing, that is definitely a critical piece in the ASC industry right now.
00:04:29
Speaker
with all of the different things, even talking about the multi-generational workforce and things of that. And then I also thought what was great is it covered the basic theme of what's important for every ASC administrator. We wear so many hats that there are things that you have to stay on top of all the time. And so it covered some of the basics that you can never hear too much about, such as
00:04:53
Speaker
managed care contracting, finance, patient satisfaction, infection prevention, quality improvement, credentialing. So in my mind, all of the things that are so relevant to what's occurring in ASCs.
00:05:09
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. And yeah, the managed care contracts for sure, anesthesia, we were going back and looking at some of our notes as well collectively, obviously staffing technology. So a lot of the usual stuff, but I feel like everything just had a kind of different spin on it this year. Yeah. And I agree with that. And also when I think about the sessions on joint replacements and some of the specialties that are really
00:05:33
Speaker
taking their presence in the ASC industry. And there was a session on cardiovascular services. I thought that was fabulous as well for those of us that are looking to maybe grow different specialties or open different types of centers.
00:05:45
Speaker
Yeah, and I actually, to your point as well, saw all the conversations around the culture that you build at your surgery center and diversity and inclusivity. I feel like in past years, there might have been maybe one session or something that had covered that lightly. But especially with the general session and some of the other dedicated sessions, it seems like that was obviously a growing topic as well this year that was really well received as well.
00:06:13
Speaker
I think it's something you'll see in the future, Erica. It makes sense. That would be something that we continue to provide through the ASCA education programs. Yeah, beautiful. I agree. What were some of the most meaningful sessions or maybe conversations that you had this year?
Impactful Regulatory Sessions and Keynote
00:06:33
Speaker
When I think back on it, it's really hard to pick out what was the most meaningful. But one thing that's always very meaningful to me is listening to the regulatory sessions.
00:06:43
Speaker
because things are always changing and it's hard to stay up to date with the regulation. So just hearing the CMS quality reporting session and learning what we have to do this year, what we have to do next year, what's coming down, I think that's all very helpful information. So many times we just get carried away in our running our ASCs that you forget about some of those things.
00:07:06
Speaker
So I thought that was very meaningful. I also enjoyed listening to the keynote speaker. I thought that was great. Listening to that Pat Day, the jockey, I thought that was a great way to start the conference out very positive. So I thought that was really meaningful.
00:07:22
Speaker
And then the Ask A celebration lunch when Kathy Bryant came on stage. And I thought that was, I thought that was really inspirational as someone who really started Ask A kind of from the beginning and pulled things together, hearing about it from the background that she had. I thought that was great. Yeah. And she was the Knapp Gary award recipient this year as well. That is correct. She was. Yeah. And during that, they also, I thought was interesting as
00:07:50
Speaker
listening to and having people stand up who are involved in the ASC administrator program. That's a brand new program that ASPA is offering for new administrators. And I was, I'm astounded by the number of individuals that are taking part in that wonderful opportunity. So I thought that was great as well.
00:08:09
Speaker
Yeah, that's such a great program. I was talking to somebody recently and they were telling me that because of some of the staffing issues that are going on, there are administrators who have been promoted to this role that have not had necessarily the same experience that their previous administrators have had or
00:08:27
Speaker
haven't really had the chance to climb the ladder in a traditional sense and learn a lot of these things on the way. And then they're just getting thrown into this administrator role. And to your point about all the regulatory stuff, like there's so many aspects to it that I think having a program like that, they're probably just so grateful to have the resources that they can turn to.
00:08:50
Speaker
And if I had the fortunate opportunity, I'm on the ask a board and I also actually have served as a mentor for that program. And so I had a wonderful opportunity to work with my mentee that was in that administrator program. And it was interesting to learn from the perspective of how, what that individual was taught as they started in their role and getting them up to speed because there are so many aspects to running an ASC. And I just think the program provides great value in that regard.
00:09:18
Speaker
Yeah. Nice. That's awesome. So looking back at the show, were there anything that came up that kind of surprised you or maybe something that was unexpected that you saw at the conferences here?
Inspirational Session by Maura Cash
00:09:32
Speaker
So I think for me, probably one of the most, for me, it was one of the most inspirational sessions is when Maura Cash was talking about social determinants of care. It blew me away because when I thought about the title of the session, I had in my mind what I was going to hear.
00:09:49
Speaker
And what I heard was something that was above and beyond what my expectations were. It was so inspirational. It was so thought provoking and she did a great job. And that pretty much started me off on that conference, just on such a positive note that continued. So I would say that was one of my wows. In addition, the networking was fabulous. I was able to meet so many individuals, link in with others that I hadn't seen in so long, meet new people.
00:10:18
Speaker
that are new in the industry, gather some insights from so many of the exhibit booths that I went to. That was a wow. It was definitely a wow. Yeah.
00:10:27
Speaker
That's awesome. Yeah, I was in Maura's session as well. And I don't have a clinical background, but I feel obviously she does, but she was able to remind everybody as to why the people who work in surgery centers and have nursing backgrounds and provide this level of care why you do it and why it matters and how taking that extra step can truly change somebody's life in a very meaningful way.
00:10:52
Speaker
Yeah, that was a wonderful session and obviously networking is always fun and productive. Yes. Okay. Last question for you. Were there any specific takeaways or action items that you plan to implement as a result of attending the conference this year? For me, the networking was fabulous. And so I have individuals that I want to reach out to, tap into. That, that is a take home for me.
00:11:20
Speaker
There were so many speakers that I thought were just fabulous. Honestly, I think their speaker lineup was great. Who they have, who Ask identifies to speak at these different sessions. They did a fabulous job. And so even reaching out to those with questions based upon their subject matter expertise, that's actually what I plan to do with the information that I've learned from Ask this year. Great.
00:11:44
Speaker
Perfect. I really appreciate you coming on and helping us recap the show. It's such an important part of the industry that once it's over, it always feels good to go back and reflect and get excited for next year. And I believe it's in Orlando next year.
00:12:00
Speaker
It's in Orlando next year. And I know the education committee is already working on the line of obsessions. So I throw this plug out there. Anybody who's listening has an idea of what you would like to have covered in there. Please make sure that you reach out to Gina and give her your suggestion. And if you're a subject matter expert in something and you have a passion for it, reach out to her as well, because that only makes ASCA more appropriate and better for all of us. So I'm looking forward to Orlando. I think it's going to be great.
00:12:29
Speaker
Good. That's a great call out. We'll make sure to put a link to that application process in the episode notes as well. So if anybody is listening and wants to suggest a topic or be a speaker, we'll include that link for them. All right, Becky, I really appreciate your time. Great chatting and we'll talk soon. Thank you, Eric. I appreciate the time. Thank you so much. Bye now. Bye.
00:12:57
Speaker
Hope you all enjoyed hearing Becky's perspective on the 2023 Ask a Conference. For me, it was really interesting to hear from her because I wrote my own recap of the show. And after speaking with her, I realized that we had a lot of overlapping takeaways, which is always reassuring. And of course, always helpful to hear others opinions, especially from those who are so close to the industry.
Focus on Anesthesia Discussions
00:13:20
Speaker
So we are just going to expand on the conversation we just had by diving in a little further. First, I'll cover.
00:13:26
Speaker
the three hottest topics, and then two pieces of news that emerged from the show. So let's do it. The first hot topic had to be anesthesia. So as more cases continue to migrate to an outpatient setting, the topic and debate around anesthesia have naturally followed suit. Several sessions this year were dedicated to improving scheduling workflows, strengthening relationships with your anesthesia providers, and expanding anesthesia types.
00:13:55
Speaker
three takeaways, finding the right partner is key. You need a partner that can scale with you, provide a reliable and skilled workforce, improve OR efficiencies, and maintain patient safety, of course.
00:14:07
Speaker
The second takeaway related to anesthesia would be that it's time to have an honest discussion, if you have not already, around regional anesthesia. While some doctors are quick to say no, ASCs have recently been able to increase the number of cases performed, add new specialties, shorten post anesthesia care time, and reduce post-operative pain for patients just by adopting regional anesthesia.
00:14:33
Speaker
And the third is just to make sure you understand the patient ASA classification rankings. As ASCs continue to see sicker patients, you need to be well-versed in the rankings for patient safety and insurance purposes as well and reimbursement.
Role of Technology in Surgery Centers
00:14:49
Speaker
The second hot topic that seemed to be everywhere was technology. Technology plays and will continue to play a pivotal role in transforming every aspect of the surgery center experience. The sessions, vendors, all the candid discussions at ASCA proves this yet again to be true. You walk around the exhibit hall and almost every vendor there is offering some form of technology, whether directly, indirectly, you can't escape it.
00:15:17
Speaker
So, three highlights related to tech. Technology will help you maximize the patient experience, of course. This will lead to improved patient intake, real-time procedural communication, early recovery after surgery, and then better management recovery of poor patient experiences as well.
00:15:36
Speaker
Second takeaway, centers that are embracing technology are winning and happy with their decision. Tracy Opichowski is the director of quality management and regulatory compliance at Allied Physician Surgery Center. And her center has done an excellent job of adopting technology into its day-to-day workflow. And when asked during a panel, what is one piece of advice you would give your peers who are considering implementing any technology, she replied, just do it.
00:16:06
Speaker
The third takeaway, the ASC industry is seeing the same trends as the FinTech industry. If you're not familiar, it's definitely worth going down a small YouTube rabbit hole to see the evolution of the FinTech industry. But innovations in finance and technology have led to the emergence of what I'm calling the FinTech industry. And it's believed that healthcare is following the same path and we'll see a continued focus on AI, cloud, big data, and more.
Inclusivity in ASC Culture
00:16:35
Speaker
And last but certainly not least, the third hot topic has to be culture and inclusivity. The ASC ecosystem encompasses a wide range of stakeholders, physicians, patients, families, staff, board members, owners, payers, but of course your local community and so on.
00:16:54
Speaker
So because of that, fostering a culture of belonging and inclusivity and respect is super important for ensuring long-term sustainability and success. Embracing diversity and understanding the importance of diversity among all of your stakeholders will only enhance the overall experience for everyone involved and ultimately drive positive outcomes.
00:17:17
Speaker
Again, to sum this up with three takeaways, create a culture of belonging. So a sense of belonging can foster a greater sense of purpose for every employee within their work environment. And you can foster inclusion through listening sessions, engagement surveys, career development, onboarding tactics, and other tactics as well.
00:17:38
Speaker
The second is understanding the role we all play in reducing the disparity of care. Maura Cash is the vice president of clinical strategies at HST Pathways. And she shared that while the world wants us to speed up in order to properly address social determinants of health, sometimes we must slow down.
00:17:58
Speaker
And lastly, foster a larger, more inclusive community and create your organization's beliefs and values, participate in local events to educate your community and be more vocal about the value you bring. So those were the three most talked about topics that I saw, anesthesia, technology, and inclusivity.
Rebranding of National Medical Billing Services
00:18:19
Speaker
And just switching gears to two other pieces of news, if you have not heard already, the first is that National Medical Billing Services has rebranded to Nimble Solutions to reflect its values of agility, innovation, and client centricity. The name change signifies the company's commitment to problem solving, innovation, and meeting client needs.
00:18:41
Speaker
The company's president and founder, Lisa Rock, emphasized their dedication, passion, and commitment to clients, aiming to transform the healthcare industry through innovation and exceeding expectations. So very cool. I love the way the new brand looks and excited to see what they do with it.
Honoring Kathy Bryant
00:18:59
Speaker
And lastly, Kathy Bryant, former CEO of ASCA, was honored with the NAP Gary Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the ASC Community. Presented by Dr. David Shapiro, the award recognizes Bryant's exceptional leadership during her tenure from 1998 to 2010. And under her guidance, ASCA transformed into a prominent advocate
00:19:23
Speaker
and influential voice for surgery centers nationwide. The award commemorates Brian's significant contributions to the community following in the footsteps of ASC leader, NAP Gary.
00:19:35
Speaker
And that officially wraps up our Ask a Recap episode. If you think we missed anything, please head over to HSC's LinkedIn page and let us know. Leave us a comment. And thank you as always for spending a few minutes of your week with us. Make sure to subscribe or leave a review on whichever platform you're listening from. I hope you have a great day and we will see you again next week.