Summary: The 2019 OPPS/ASC final rule adds 12 cardiac catheterization procedures and five additional cardiology procedures to the ASC list of covered procedures. As a result, many anesthesia groups will see a change in the mix of procedures at their ASCs starting in 2019 and should begin planning accordingly.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid S...
In her blog, A Penned Point, early this year, Karen Sibert, MD, president of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, asked her fellow specialists to take some time during Physician Anesthesiologists Week to celebrate the specialty's accomplishments, but also to reflect on the state of the profession today, the anesthesiologist's place in the c...
The current framework for addressing burnout, including burnout among physicians and other healthcare professionals, tends to be one that attempts to 'fix' the individual, but burnout is really a warning sign to the organization that it needs to make improvements in the social and psychological environment. We offer highlights of a presentation by ...
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: to reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor. — Oliver Wendell HolmesIn earlier Communiqué articles ("Hope is Not a Strategy: A Primer for Anesthesia...
Summary: The use of telemedicine to streamline care, reduce costs without compromising quality, and enhance patient satisfaction and engagement among a highly technology-connected population of healthcare consumers shows promise in the delivery of perioperative services. We offer highlights of a presentation on telemedicine in anesthesia at ANESTH...
Anesthesia groups continue to be presented with opportunities to participate in hospital co-management arrangements. These arrangements are one way that hospitals and physicians can align in order to improve the quality and efficiency of care provided through one or more hospital service lines.By achieving such objectives, participating hospitals a...
Among the offerings at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2018 was a panel discussion by three anesthesiologists who have made the successful transition to executive leadership roles in healthcare administration, industry and public policy. We highlight selected comments from the panelists and ASA resources for members interested in pursuing various kinds of leadersh...
Although the editor, bless her heart, steadfastly refused to let me have a sneak, pre-publication peek at the other articles that appear alongside this one, my educated guess is that each of them purports to give you answers.I know that's why you usually read Communiqué. In fact, nearly every one of the hundreds of other articles that I've written ...
SummaryThe Texas Department of Insurance recently fined insurer Humana $700,000 for failing to contract with a sufficient number of anesthesiologists to ensure that patients had the ability to receive their anesthesia care from in-network providers. Some patients had received "surprise" medical bills as a result of the insurer's failure to comply w...
Kelly D. Dennis, MBA, ACS-AN, CANPC, CHCA, CPC, CPC-I Perfect Office Solutions, Inc., Leesburg, FLIn coding and billing for anesthesia services, it often seems that just when you think you understand the rules, something changes.One area of anesthesia billing that consistently confuses practices and coding professionals is the ability to add value ...
The new and revised Joint Commission standards for pain assessment and management for ambulatory care, critical access hospitals and office-based surgeries will go into effect in January 2019. Anesthesia groups should review their departmental policies and procedures and modify them as needed to ensure compliance.In June of this year, The Joint Com...
A recent analysis of the financial information of 104 leading health systems (more than 2,200 hospitals) found that size and profitability do not necessarily go hand in hand. The report, by Navigant, throws into question the common wisdom that scale is required to deliver the effectiveness, cost efficiency, care coordination, physician recruitment ...
Following dramatic growth in the provision of—and reliable reimbursement for—anesthesia services by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist for endoscopic procedures, we are seeing isolated payer policy changes intended to limit utilization. We predict similar changes from other key payers. We advise anesthesia practices that are expanding their ...
Though rare, wrong-site nerve blocks are much more common than wrong-site surgery, according to a large incidence study. Two organizations, the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists and the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, joined forces to develop a consensus-based, peer-driven protocol that incorporates practices with unique relevance fo...
Covered entities, including anesthesia practices, are required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to execute a contract with business associates to safeguard the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). As the holder of the PHI, anesthesia groups should make sure they understand and carr...
Agile improvement methods based on an iterative project management approach first used in the software industry can be applied to a variety of problems in healthcare, including those related to anesthesia care. We review key characteristics of the Agile approach and offer examples from the scientific literature.Does the word "agile" mean anything t...
We summarize findings on anesthesiologist compensation from the Medscape Anesthesiologist Compensation Report 2018. The survey reports total annual compensation for anesthesiologists of an average of $386,000, a six percent increase from the 2017 report. A multitude of factors are used to determine compensation, and actual compensation figures amon...
SummaryThe growing use of nerve blocks for acute pain management is helping anesthesiologists improve the quality and safety of patient care. New approaches and techniques are emerging all the time. While this innovation benefits patients, it also creates billing and coding challenges and underscores the importance of having a billing partner that ...
Physician burnout—including burnout among anesthesia providers—remains a serious public health problem, with studies showing prevalence rates of approximately 50 percent. A recent study in the Journal of Internal Medicine calls for a two-pronged blend of individual and organizational solutions, arguing that "addressing physician burnout should be v...