Advancing Surgical Care Podcast

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA CEO Bill Prentice and ASCA Chief Advocacy Officer Kara Newbury discuss the 2027 final payment rule for ASCs released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 4. The 1,270-page rule extends the hospital market basket as the inflationary update factor for procedures performed in surgery centers, expands the ASC Covered Procedures List and revises the ASC Quality Reporting Program. In less than 20 minutes, Prentice and Newbury highlight the key points from the rule, giving ASCs essential top-line information while ASCA completes a full analysis and updates its ASC rate calculator.

For many years, ASCA has led advocacy efforts that resulted in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services adding several new cardiovascular and vascular procedure codes to the ASC Covered Procedures List. In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Advocacy Officer Kara Newbury talks with Deb Yoder, a facilities development specialist and an accomplished nurse with frontline experience in operating rooms, cardiac catheterization labs, intensive care and surgery centers. Tune in to hear Yoder discuss the design, regulatory and equipment requirements needed to add cardiovascular and vascular procedures in an ASC.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA CEO Bill Prentice is joined by ASCA President Todd Currier for a wide-ranging discussion about his aspirations for ASCA, his presidency and the ASC community. As the administrator of Bend Surgery Center in Bend, Oregon, Currier understands the challenges and opportunities of operating a surgery center today and is passionate about advocating with policymakers on behalf of the ASC community. Tune in to learn more about what led him through the ranks to ASCA president and hear his message to all ASCA members.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA CEO Bill Prentice talks with One World Surgery CEO Claire Cunningham about the start of volunteer medical missions at the organization’s new surgery center in the Dominican Republic. For the past 10 years, ASCA has supported One World Surgery’s mission of delivering high-quality surgical care globally through financial assistance and scholarships for ASCA members to participate in its medical missions. Tune in for an engaging discussion to learn more about the extraordinary work One World Surgery is doing and opportunities to participate in life-saving medical missions at its locations in Honduras or the Dominican Republic.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Past President Mandy Hawkins introduces the work ASCA’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group is doing to support the safe adoption of AI tools in ASCs. She is joined by Becky Ziegler-Otis, assistant executive director of the ASC Quality Collaboration, for an engaging conversation about administrative AI applications available to surgery centers. With practical advice and real-world examples of how AI can improve the efficiency of patient engagement and administrative support, Hawkins and Ziegler-Otis also provide essential guidance to ensure patient privacy and HIPAA compliance in using AI applications.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA CEO Bill Prentice talks with ASCA Board Member Raghu Reddy about strategies and tactics for successfully managing many of the prior authorization requirements placed on ASCs and their patients today. Reddy is the chief administrative officer of MiOrtho Surgery Center in Southfield, Michigan, and in addition to his service on the ASCA Board, he also serves on ASCA’s Education and Programs and Quality Committees. At ASCA’s annual conference this past May, Reddy gave an intensive, hour-long presentation on how to effectively manage prior authorization requirements. In this informative episode, he distills his comprehensive presentation down to 20 minutes, covering patient intake, interoffice coordination, risk assessments, methods for remedying denials and the internal tracking that he believes is essential to overcoming these challenges.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice leads a conversation about the challenges of providing anesthesia services in surgery centers today. Prentice is joined by Garrett Hilgendorf, administrator of Mankato Surgery Center in Mankato, Minnesota, and Brett Maxfield, CRNA, principal and founder of Maxfield Health Solutions, a provider of anesthesia equipment and consulting services based in Rigby, Idaho. Obtaining anesthesia services has become one of the most complex parts of running a successful ASC today, and striking the right balance between providing high-quality anesthesia care and maintaining financial viability is harder than ever. During this insightful discussion, Hilgendorf and Maxfield talk about how they are innovating and adapting to succeed in this new and challenging environment. Both Hilgendorf and Maxfield will also participate in a panel discussion on managing anesthesia services at the ASCA + SAMBA Conference & Expo in Washington, DC, this May. ASCA’s partnership with SAMBA (Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia) for this year’s conference will provide a more interdisciplinary learning and networking experience for the entire ASC community.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Advocacy Officer Kara Newbury talks with Chris Fox, executive director of Voices for Non-Opioid Choices (Voices), about the federal Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act.This highly informative discussion details how the NOPAIN Act temporarily allows providers to charge separately for drugs, biologicals and medical devices that have been approved as non-opioid pain treatments to help reduce opioid usage by Medicare beneficiaries. By increasing access to non-opioid alternatives that facilities might not otherwise use—or that Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay for out-of-pocket—the legislation aims to reduce the incidence of addiction and abuse.Voices is a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to preventing opioid addiction and abuse by advocating for increased patient and provider access to non-opioid pain management therapies.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice is joined by Chris Schriever, cofounder and chief executive officer of ASC Data, an ASCA affinity partner. ASC Data specializes in providing actionable statistics on the ASC market, helping businesses identify future opportunities. During this brief, informative discussion, Schriever talks about the sources he relies on for compiling his proprietary reports on thousands of ASCs, and how ASC Data is filling the need for detailed and reliable data about ASCs all across the country. Many in the ASCA community already know Schriever and his team for the support they provide ASCA in the recruitment and management of ASCA’s affiliate and sponsorship relationships, especially those that help make ASCA’s annual conference a success each year. Learn how this insightful data is helping providers tailor their offerings for ASCs, anticipate future trends, and allow administrators to more efficiently access the essential supplies and services they need to run and manage their ASCs.

In this episode of the Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice talks with Nina Goins, executive director of the ASC Quality Collaboration (ASCQC), about the organization’s focus on helping ASCs maintain the highest standards of safety and quality in the delivery of surgical care.Prentice and Goins discuss the organization’s ASC Safety & Quality Assessment, which is offered annually May 1 through June 15 and results in the publication of a national benchmarking report.Goins was appointed executive director of ASCQC in March, following the retirement of Kathy Wilson.ASCA encourages all ASCs to take part in the short, confidential assessment and to learn more about ASCQC’s abundant resources and toolkits, all of which can be found on the ASCQC website.