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| Nevada May Require ASC Accreditation |
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The backlash from a hepatitis C outbreak stemming from a Las Vegas endoscopy center's unsanitary practices could mean the end of voluntary ASC accreditation in Nevada.
According to news reports, state lawmakers are planning legislation requiring ASCs to be inspected by the Joint Commission, the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities or the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.
But Department of Health and Human Services director Mike Willden says this legislation alone might not solve the problem. "The centers that had the most egregious problems, some were accredited and some were not," he says. Mr. Willden cites the following issues as also needing legislative attention:
reorganizing the state's Bureau of Licensure and Certification;
setting steeper fines and penalties for ASCs found to have problems; and
creating better channels of communication among the state's regulatory agencies.
Inspectors are still scrutinizing the state's ASCs. On April 15, the health department ordered Lake Tahoe Surgical Center closed due to unsafe infection control practices following an unannounced inspection, according to a news release.
Nathan Hall |
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| Credit Crunch Derails ASC Project |
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The financial crisis roiling the housing and credit markets appears to be extending its reach to healthcare ventures. Earlier this month, the South Sonoma County Medical Group announced that it was suspending plans to open a new ambulatory surgery center in Petaluma, Calif., after it failed to secure adequate funding.
The group had partnered with Texas-based Cirrus Health last September to develop the facility. Under the original deal, according to SSCMG president Bob Ostroff, MD, the doctors would have bought shares and attracted patients to the facility while Cirrus provided funding and management. But, Dr. Ostroff reports, for the first time in Cirrus' dealings with ASCs, lenders are requiring the doctors to co-sign on notes for the building and equipment - a condition the Sonoma group was not willing to meet.
Now the group is placing its plans on hold and has paid back the physician-investors with interest. "We hope to resurrect this project when venture money becomes available again," Dr. Ostroff told the North Bay Business Journal.
Meanwhile, some analysts see hope on the horizon for the healthcare real estate market. Erika Morphy of GlobeSt.com writes, "There are signs that this sector ... is well-positioned to come out of the credit crunch with more efficient and streamlined sources of debt and equity," such as local banks and flexible credit facilities.
Irene Tsikitas |
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| Surprising Sources Assist in Superbug Fight |
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Alligator blood and clay hold clues to creating antibiotics capable of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other harmful microbes, researchers report.
Alligators have an immune system much stronger than that of humans, and are able to fight off fungi, viruses and bacteria without prior exposure. Researchers at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., analyzed proteins in the white blood cells of American alligators and found that protein extracts kill MRSA, Candida albicans and microbes that cause infections in diabetic ulcers and severe burns.
"There's a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day," said biochemist Mark Merchant, PhD, in a press release. Dr. Merchant presented his findings in a poster session at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in New Orleans earlier this month. Currently, databases on proteins have very little information on the alligator proteome, which Dr. Merchant hopes will become known as "alligacin."
At the same annual meeting, researchers from Arizona State University presented findings that seem to concur with the folk medicine practice of using clay to help heal wounds and treat an upset stomach. Researchers identified clay from Oregon and Nevada that killed MRSA and E. coli as well as clay from France that killed MRSA, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes urinary and gastrointestinal infections.
Researchers studied 30 different types of clay gathered from around the world. The results confirm what homeopathic healers have known for centuries.
"Since people existed, they have used clays for medicinal purposes," Lynda Williams, PhD, told Bloomberg News. "If we can understand [clay's] antibacterial mechanism, then I expect clays will be more prevalent in people's lives."
Kent Steinriede |
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| News and Notes |
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SURGICAL CARE AFFILIATES has named Andrew P. Hayek president and chief executive officer effective May 1. SCA's current president and chief executive officer, Mike Snow, is resigning his position effective April 30, but will continue to serve as an advisor on the company's board of directors. Mr. Hayek most recently served as president of VillageHealth, an insurance and care management company owned by DaVita, the nation's leading independent provider of kidney dialysis services. Mr. Snow led the former HealthSouth company through its transition to a stand-alone surgical services provider after its creation in 2007 through the acquisition of the division by TPG Capital, a private investment firm with more than $50 billion in assets under management.
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF GASTROENTEROLOGY and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy are working together to develop a database to track the details of gastroenterologists' colonoscopy techniques and other common procedures, according to the Wall Street Journal. Database participants will submit information on how large a portion of the colon they examine, how many polyps they find and how long it takes to withdraw from the colon. So far, 23 practices have submitted data on about 4,800 colonoscopies.
CMS HAS PROPOSED adding nine more complications to its list of preventable conditions that Medicare won't pay hospitals to treat. According to a news release issued last week, those conditions include surgical site infections following certain elective procedures, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, Staphylococcus aureus septicemia or bloodstream infection and Clostridium difficile-associated disease. If approved after a public comment period, the proposed additions will be published in a final rule later this year and take effect on Oct. 1.
EVEN THOUGH OUTPATIENT SURGERY enables facilities to treat and discharge patients within hours, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists reminds providers to always make sure patients have a friend or relative drive them home following any procedure requiring anesthesia. AANA president Wanda Wilson, CRNA, PhD, equates post-surgical driving to driving under the influence. "Patients should not drive, no matter how 'normal' they feel, after surgery," she says, "for their own safety, as well as the safety of other drivers on the road." |
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