Each year, the Texas ASC Society heads out across the Lone Star State, stopping by to see ambulatory care leaders and touring their high-quality, cost-effective surgery centers...like the new Kelsey-Seybold Memorial Villages Campus!

Another annual conference has come and gone for the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society. There were SO many of you present as speakers, vendors, sponsors, and guests...businesses and groups from all over, coming together for the ambulatory surgery center industry. We hope you all benefited from the learning, the networking, and the fun (we're looking at you, bingo-playing chickens;).

National Advocacy Day helps build relationships with policymakers who make decisions that directly impact ambulatory surgery centers – facilities that provide same-day surgical care.

This week, Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) Board Members Akshay Tavkar of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic and Kayla Schneeweiss-Keene of Mann Cataract Surgery Center, Executive Director Krista DuRapau, and honorary Texan Amanda Penrod of RFX Solutions participated in the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association’s (ASCA) National Advocacy Day.

Austin’s famous bingo-playing chickens will make a special appearance at the Texas ASC Society’s annual conference next week!

On Sunday, February 19, Krista DuRapau (the TASCS executive director) and Jenn Schlabach (the society’s membership and meeting coordinator), went to The Little Longhorn Saloon, an Austin honky-tonk dating back to WWII, for a game of chicken bingo. You’re probably wondering if chickens can actually play bingo, and TASCS can attest to the fact that, indeed, they doo-doo.

From committees to events, there are numerous ways to collaborate with the Texas ASC Society!

The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) serves as the public policy advocate for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry.

Get a brief look into the updates on reporting for ASCs, as delivered by Gina Throneberry of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. 

Thank you to all of those that joined our Virtual Town Hall on December 8! For those of  you who were not able to attend, Gina Throneberry, RN, MBA, CASC, CNOR, Director of  Education and Clinical Affairs at Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA), joined us and was able to provide a wealth of information on regulatory and quality measure reporting for ASCs. 

Below you will find an overview of the updates and helpful links from the presentation: 

Welcome, Chris Kralik of the Digestive Health Center of Plano and Allen, to the TASCS Board!

The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society is excited to welcome Chris Kralik, BSN, RN, CGRN to our board! You may remember Kralik from last year’s Membership Monday on one of his centers or as a speaker at this year’s Annual Conference. 

Mark your calendar for late February and early March of next year, and plan on joining us for ASCA’s National Advocacy Day, as well as Capitol Day and the TASCS 2023 Annual Conference.

National Advocacy Day and its fly-in, Capitol Day, and our 2023 Annual Conference are all just around the corner, and the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association’s (ASCA) David Opong-Wadee shared the importance of and the goals for these events.

Recently, THCIC spoke with TASCS on healthcare reporting, which provides information that helps consumers to have an impact on the cost and quality of care in Texas.

Texas Health Care Information Collection (THCIC) representatives Tarik Brown, Andy Alegria, and Dee Roes, explained the data collection process, compliance policies, and distribution at one of the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society’s (TASCS) virtual town hall events last month.

A recent virtual event for the Texas ASC community covered explanation of benefit forms, including the components and best practices.

Often referred to as 835, 837, or 5010 files, Explanation of Benefit forms (EOBs) are statements commonly sent to covered individuals and providers from clearing houses. Acuet RCM: Revenue Cycle Management & Consulting representatives –  Founder and President Michael Orseno and  Revenue Cycle Manager Margo Hagiu – explained each component of EOBs and best practices at a recent Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) town hall.

What are the components of an EOB?

Explanation of Benefits forms are composed of the following items: payee, patient information, service performed, date of service, CPT codes, denial codes, service location, billed charges fee, insurance allowable, co-insurance, adjustment reasons and/or codes & remarks, and a brief explanation of adjustment codes. The allowable amount is your contracted amount for the code shown. It is followed by the breakdown of that amount.

Ambulatory surgery centers need to have solutions in place that help provide security and operational resilience.

As the medical industry continues to evolve, some things are constant, such as the human body’s need for qualified care and the use of technology to help accomplish this. The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society had a thought-provoking and informative town hall with Medigate by Claroty, discussing the integration of the healthcare field and the world of cybersecurity.

Kayla Schneeweiss-Keene of the Mann Eye Institute is now a TASCS board member!

The Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society is proud to have Kayla Schneeweiss-Keene as a new board member.

In the past few years, everyone has felt the adverse effects of supply chain issues and product shortages. How is this affecting the ambulatory care industry, and what can ASC professionals do to combat these problems?

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we saw a limited number of go-to items, ranging from stores running out of toilet paper to healthcare facilities running out of face masks. Fast forward a couple of years, and we are noticing other products being out of stock and/or taking longer to ship to us, and this includes pharmaceuticals.

At the time of writing, the list of FDA Drug Shortages includes 122 medications, while the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Drug Shortages List has 223. 

TASCS spoke with ASC Quality Collaboration Executive Director Kathy Wilson about the organization’s mission, regular activities, and new tool, which will offer info on the quality and patient safety at different ambulatory surgery centers. 

The ASC Quality Collaboration (ASCQC) is dedicated to advancing high-quality, patient-centered care in ambulatory surgery centers. This is a collaborative effort between the ASC industry, professional associations, ASC management companies, and health IT companies. 

This summer, TASCS has been visiting ambulatory surgery centers throughout Texas, in order to learn even more about these facilities and to continue spreading awareness about the growing ASC industry.

Before the annual conference, the TASCS team visited NW Surgery. Founded by a physician in 1999, it is one of the longest-standing, independent, physician-owned surgery centers in Houston.

The director of pharmacy at St. David’s spoke about how pharmacy management can help lead ambulatory surgery centers to success. 

Pharmacy management is a key component to ambulatory surgery centers. It offers centers a guide on realistic ways to comply with regulations and helps improve efficiency with medication processes. That efficiency gives nurses more time at the patient’s bedside to give them the high-quality care they deserve. Amy Jones of Jones Premier Pharmacy Consulting and the director of pharmacy at St. David's South Austin Medical Center spoke to TASCS members about how pharmacy management can improve multimodal pain management, infection prevention, and patient satisfaction.

The pain experience for patients is complex, Jones said, and so surgery centers need to incorporate multiple pathways to relieve pain. ASCs should consider pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical, and even environmental methods, such as dimming lights to help make patients more comfortable.

How the No Surprises Act affects ambulatory surgery centers + Ways to navigate the changes

The No Surprises Act has changed how medical professionals work and care for their patients. Chris Finelli, HST Pathways’ vice president of business development, shared with the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) the main attributes of the act that went into effect on January 1, 2022.  

This summer, TASCS has been visiting ambulatory surgery centers throughout Texas, in order to learn even more about these facilities and to continue spreading awareness about the growing ASC industry.

On July 22, the TASCS team visited Spicewood Surgery Center in Austin, which opened in December 2019. From the welcoming front office to the attention to detail, this single-specialty facility focuses on customized care that helps to improve patients' quality of life. 

Clinical Pathology Associates covered ways to create positive connections with path/lab centers, in order to create quality care for patients.

The relationship between ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and laboratory / pathology centers is crucial to providing the best service to patients. Matt Thompson, CEO of Clinical Pathology Associates, met with Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society (TASCS) members to share key points on what to look for when selecting the best lab and path centers for partnership.