by William Prentice
ASCA is giving ASC professionals a number of new opportunities this year to get the information and continuing education credit they need. We will also be offering a few old favorites. If you own or work in an ASC, I encourage you to look into all of these programs and sign up now for those that best meet your needs.
Online Regulatory Training Series
To help ASCs orient new staff, meet regulatory and accreditation requirements, assess competency and achieve top outcomes, ASCA and HealthStream have teamed up to provide a series of 21 online, on-demand training courses that target the special needs of ASC professionals. Sixteen of these courses offer continuing education credit, and all provide important information that can help improve the patient care that ASCs deliver. Topics covered in the series include medication safety, safe patient handling, postoperative pain control, infection prevention, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and more.
For information, go to www.ascassociation.org/TrainingSeries.
Medical Directors Leadership Seminar
Also new this year, ASCA is offering a Medical Directors Leadership Seminar that will target the special interests and needs of ASC medical directors and other physicians. This program will take place May 16-17, 2015, at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes in Orlando, Fla. It will focus on emerging practice and business management techniques and examine key decision-making strategies.
This seminar will give participants a unique opportunity to step away from their demanding daily routines and take a high-level view of operations at their ASC from a leader’s perspective. Attendees will be able to help guide small-group discussions and focus the conversation on the topics that concern them the most. They will also have extensive networking opportunities to connect with other ASC medical directors and physicians from across the country who are facing the same changes, challenges and opportunities in their ASCs. Continuing medical education (CME) credit will be provided.
For more information, go to www.ascassociation.org/2015MedicalDirectors.
Webinars
While our webinar series isn’t new, this year’s line-up may be the best we have ever offered. So much is new for ASCs in 2015 that the information that these programs provide will be essential for ASCs in the coming year.
In the first half of the year, ASC professionals can learn what they need to know about the new Drug Enforcement Administration guidelines, new clinical evidence affecting endoscope reprocessing, new accreditation standards, how to make the most of ASCA’s new clinical and operational benchmarking program and the latest in Life Safety Code surveys. In the second half of the year, the programs will take a closer look at ICD-10 contingency planning, best practices for preventing surgical fires and Medicare’s payment and quality reporting changes that will affect ASCs in 2016.
And that’s just the beginning. This year’s series also looks at cutting-edge business management advice, emerging concerns like managing social media in the workplace and what you need to know to move new procedures into your ASC.
Each webinar lasts one hour and, unless otherwise indicated, offers one continuing education credit for nurses (CE) and one for administrators (AEU). ASCA members can register for the entire series at once and save 10 percent on the total price.
Go to www.ascassociation.org/Webinars for more information.
ASCA 2015
Of course, ASCA will also be offering our popular annual meeting again in 2015. This year’s meeting, ASCA 2015, will take place May 13-16, at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. As in year’s past, this meeting will offer something for everyone who works in and with an ASC. From new developments in human resources and cost control to future planning, compliance and managing liability risk, this year’s program looks at just about every aspect of ASC operations that keeps ASC professionals up at night and provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for ASC professionals to find the answers that they need.
For more information, go to www.ascassociation.org/ASCA2015.
2015 Fall Seminar
We are still working on the agenda for our 2015 Fall Seminar, but last year’s meeting got high marks from attendees and we hope to get similar results again this year. Our goal is to give attendees the tools and insights they need to combine best practices from the past with new business management strategies and practice techniques that can help them craft a successful future for their ASC. We are also working to help participants determine how they can make the most of the opportunities available to them in today’s rapidly changing healthcare marketplace. Once we have more information to share, you will be able to find it at www.ascassociation.org/2015FallSeminar.
If you work in or with an ASC, or hope to one day, I encourage you to look into all of these programs and register for the ones that are the best fit for you. Also, if you have ideas about other resources and information that you would like ASCA to offer, please send them our way. You can write us at asc@ascassociation.org or call our Member Services team at 703.836.8808.
William Prentice is the chief executive officer of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.
