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« Previous EntriesWASCA’s Response to JAMA Study
Friday, June 18th, 2010WASCA STATEMENT RE: JUNE 9, 2010 JAMA ARTICLE
For Attribution to William Portuese, MD
President, Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported on a pilot study concerning adherence to new infection control practices prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study of…
Steris System 1 Processor: FDA Notice and Recommendations
Sunday, December 13th, 2009FDA notified healthcare facility administrators and infection control healthcare professionals of important information regarding the regulatory status of the STERIS System 1 Processor (SS1) used in surgical and endoscopy suites for reprocessing, i.e., sterilizing or disinfecting, medical devices.
Click here to read more…
Re: KING 5 TV – “Why no one’s watching cosmetic clinics”
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Dear Representative Cody and Senator Keiser:
The Washington Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (“WASCA”) desires to share with you the thoughts of its leadership on the tragic accident described in the KING 5 TV piece entitled “Why no one’s watching cosmetic clinics”. A copy of the piece is enclosed for your reference…
Injecting Value into Medical Decisions
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009It’s widely estimated that 30% of U.S. health-care spending—some $700 billion a year—is spent on tests, treatments and procedures that provide no value. But one man’s waste may be another’s life-saving treatment. And there are hundreds of medical quandaries with no clear answers…
To read more click here.
Medicare Releases Proposed 2010 ASC Payments
Monday, July 6th, 2009Medicare has released its proposed 2010 ASC payment rates and policies. The proposed rule is available here: www.ascassociation.org/2010rule.pdf. CMS is proposing an inflation update of 0.6% (Medicare’s estimate of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers) and is not proposing to require ASC quality reporting in 2010. The ASC Association will provide further details…
MedPAC Releases June Report to Congress
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is an independent congressional agency established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105–33) to advise the U.S. Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program.
To read to the rest of the report click the link below:
http://www.medpac.gov/documents/Jun09_EntireReport.pdf
Obamas Letter to the Senate
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009On June 3rd President Obama wrote a letter to Senators Kennedy and Baucus about what he wants to get passed in Health Care.
To read the letter click the link below:
Kennedy Releases Draft Health Reform Legislation, Begins Mark-up
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009A new bill has been released to the senate. This bill is to make quality, affordable health care available to all Americans, reduce costs, improve health care quality, enhance disease prevention, and strengthen the health care work-force.
To read this bill click the link below:
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf
Bellingham Surgery Center in the News
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009A 12-year-old Haitian boy, blind in one eye, receives free care at Bellingham Surgery Center. Read about it here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/689/story/966377.html
Turning up the HEAT to Stop Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
Monday, May 25th, 2009Health care fraud perpetrators are stealing billions of dollars from the federal government, American taxpayers and some of our most vulnerable citizens. This not only drives up costs for everyone in the health care system, it hurts the long term solvency of Medicare and Medicaid, two programs upon which millions of Americans depend…
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