Category: ASC News

Physicians’ ranking of most important social issues

A large majority of physicians named healthcare access and substance abuse in their top five social issues, according to Medscape’s “Physicians’ Views on Today’s Divisive Social Issues Report 2022.” 

Illinois physician admits to illegally prescribing drug

A physician in Collinsville, Ill., admitted to illegally prescribing an anti-anxiety drug, the U.S. Justice Department said June 7. 

Physician sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion

Mississippi emergency room physician Kevin Crandell, MD, was sentenced to 33 months in prison and nearly $1 million in restitution, the Daily Journal said June 7.

5 ASC acquisitions, affiliations, partnerships

Below are five ASC acquisitions, affiliations and partnerships that Becker’s has covered since May 3:

New York physician to pay $600K to settle false billing claims 

A Dansville, N.Y.-based physician has agreed to pay $602,662.61 to resolve allegations that he billed CMS for procedures that were never performed, WETM reported June 7. 

Why health execs like to hire temporary physicians 

Sixty-five percent of providers used temporary physicians to allow for the continual treatment of patients, according to AMN Healthcare’s “2022 Survey of Locum Tenens.”

ASC group IT breach: 2 million people affected 

A hacker stole data from ASC and imaging group Shields Health Care, jeopardizing the personal information of 2 million people across 56 practices and facilities in New England.

Physician deemed a ‘high risk’ to the public says medical board is using ‘phony’ evaluation 

An Iowa physician who has been deemed a high risk to the public said a state licensing board has used a “phony” competency evaluation to discipline him, the Globe Gazette reported June 5.  

AMA’s 10 ways to overhaul Medicare’s physician payment system

The American Medical Association endorsed 10 ways to reform the Medicare physician payment system, in a June 3 website post. 

The 2 factors determining ASC success

ASC success boils down to CMS policy and cost management, according to Sandy Berreth, RN, administrator at Foothill Surgery Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. Below, she discusses those factors surgery centers can control and those they can’t.