In honor of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center in Miami, Florida created a cake to encourage colon screenings. The cake features multiple tools used to perform routine home repairs and urges patients to “know when to call an expert.” The pamphlet featured on the cake then directs patients to StopColonCancerNow.com. The cake can be seen here.
Phillip Clendenin Wishes AMSURG Partners a Happy Doctors’ Day
March 30 is National Doctors’ Day, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the important work you do to deliver high quality, patient-centered care in your community. Last year, you and your fellow physicians performed more than 1.7 million procedures at AMSURG centers. Whether you are preventing colon cancer, restoring vision or repairing injuries, you are improving the health and lives of those around you.
At AMSURG, we are working every day to ensure you have complete confidence in the operations, quality and overall health of your center, allowing you to focus on caring for your patients.
Happy Doctors’ Day. We’re proud to partner with you.
Safety is our Priority
As one of the leaders in providing ambulatory surgery options for patients, we are deeply concerned by the recent stories that called out patient tragedies and undermined a proven healthcare service option to gain viewership and readers. In addition, we believe all outpatient surgery centers should follow strict licensing, accreditation and patient safety processes to ensure the highest quality care and safety.
For decades, ambulatory and outpatient surgery have been valid options for surgical care. These settings enable shorter recoveries and offer more affordable options for identified procedures.
At AMSURG, we partner with our physicians and employees to deliver the highest standards of care and quality. AMSURG centers are Medicare approved and undergo voluntary accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) or The Joint Commission. In addition, our centers voluntarily comply with the OAS CAHPS (Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey process. Each center’s Governing Board and medical staff review quality information every quarter to ensure a culture focused on safety, quality, and the patient experience. We pride ourselves in providing every patient with personalized care.
All patients undergo a complete health assessment and medical history review to ensure they are an appropriate candidate for care in an ambulatory surgery center. Based on the medical condition of the patient, medical history, and the planned surgery, the physician may determine that the patient should receive care in a hospital.
Our clinical quality team is focused on ensuring our teams continuously review quality and patient safety data in each center. Operational and clinical staff members review quality metrics monthly with a goal of continually meeting and exceeding patient expectations. However, like all surgical procedures, even those in the hospital, there are risks. Patients should review those risks with their physician before making a final decision on their care.
We want to assure our current and future patients that our ambulatory surgery centers are committed to offering a safe, high quality patient experience. The ambulatory surgery environment is a safe and affordable option for those patients who meet health and medical review requirements.
Additional Information:
AMSURG and a Partnering ASC Shared Total Joint Replacement Advice in OR Manager
In OR Manager’s February 2018 issue, Troy Sparks, BSN, RN, CNOR, Regional Vice President and Total Joint Program Coordinator, AMSURG, shared advice on developing a high-quality total joint replacement program in ambulatory surgery centers (ASC). In the article titled, “Total joints present increasingly attractive option for ASCs,” he stressed the importance of physician leaders, strict patient eligibility criteria and patient education.
Sparks worked closely with Surgery Center of Long Beach, an AMSURG partner, to develop the program. In 2017, the center became the first ASC in the U.S. to receive a Center of Excellence Award in Orthopaedic Certification by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.
View the full article here.
Kaizen Event Reduces Room Turnover Delays by 33 Percent
AMSURG’s process improvement team recently led a Kaizen event aimed at improving turnover times at a Maryland center. Ninety days after the collaborative event, the sustained improvement was a 33 percent reduction in room turnover time, from 15 to 10 minutes between patients.
Certified Kaizen facilitator, David Mayer, led the two-day Kaizen event and the team consisted of AMSURG corporate staff as well as the center’s clinical and operational staff. Collaboratively, they identified opportunities for improvement in all areas of center operation, including pre-op, anesthesia, patient consent, procedure specimen/report input, GI Tech tasks and PACU. During the event, the team implemented 12 key changes through best practice standardization, creative problem solving and visual management tools.
AMSURG’s process improvement team specializes in eliminating duplication and reducing non-value added elements of key operational processes, allowing ASCs to run more safely and efficiently. To learn more about a partnership with AMSURG, contact us.
Dr. Adam Blomberg Featured in Becker’s ASC Review Interview
Adam Blomberg, MD, FASA, was featured in a December interview with Becker’s ASC Review, where he discussed the ASC-based anesthesiologist’s role in enacting ERAS protocols and mitigating opioid usage.
Dr. Blomberg spoke on the need for coordinated collaboration among ASC staff to enact patient-centered ERAS protocols. He also discussed anesthesia’s unique role in mitigating opioid usage through multimodal pain management techniques, including regional anesthesia and preoperative pharmacogenetics testing.
Dr. Blomberg is a board-certified anesthesiologist serving as Chief of Anesthesiology at Memorial Healthcare System. He also serves as the National Education Director for Envision Physician Services Anesthesiology.
View the article here.
AMSURG Sponsors Health:Further 2016
AMSURG participated in Health:Further 2016 on August 23-24 in Nashville as a sponsor of the conference’s Provider Track, including an introduction from AMSURG’s President of Ambulatory Services, Phillip Clendenin and a presentation from Chief Quality Officer for Physician Services Gerald A. Maccioli, M.D. Dr. Maccioli discussed the implications of the Medicare Authorization and Chip Reauthorization Act (MACRA) for physicians. Created by JumpStart Foundry, Health:Further brings healthcare entrepreneurs and investors together in an effort to build partnerships that innovate the future of the rapidly-changing healthcare market. With its combination of keynotes, panels and tech startup showcases, Health:Further provides opportunities to “further the dialogue on innovation in [the healthcare] industry.” The “Volume to Value” revolution is one such opportunity for innovation. Dr. Maccioli’s Provider Track presentation explored the complexities of MACRA and the unique opportunities and challenges providers face in the shift from volume-based fee-for-service payments to value-based payments spawned by this legislation. MACRA seeks to empower doctors and reduce the administrative burden by allowing physicians and practitioners to be rewarded for providing excellent care at lower costs. “If physicians are asked to co-lead in the volume-to-value revolution, it will succeed; if not, it will fail,” commented Dr. Maccioli while discussing the unique partnership opportunities physicians face in this healthcare shift. AMSURG’s Chief Information Officer Eric Thrailkill along with Kimberly Franks, vice president, information technology, and Dave Killean, division vice president, operations, are working with Jumpstart Foundry to gain access to innovation opportunities at AMSURG. With the help of JumpStart, Thrailkill and his team have met with 16 startups focused on driving healthcare solutions. “There are over 7,000 digital health IT start-ups today…far too many to vet in a rapidly changing environment,” Thrailkill said. “We have defined innovation ‘buckets’ of interest at AMSURG focusing on care delivery models, efficiency models and patient engagement initiatives.” Three of these startups: GreenlightMedical, Calibrater Health and Beckoncall have visited AMSURG to explore new growth opportunities in digital health.