Member Alerts

Member Alert 4-28-2021

Florida's Culture of Safety Requirement

Culture of Safety surveys have long been an effective tool to measuring and improving patient safety. Ideally, when done regularly, this process becomes part of your ASC's quality program and you benchmark your center’s results from survey to survey.

The Florida legislature has taken it one step further and mandated that ASCs conduct a survey every two years and submit the results. However, the Agency for Health Care Administration has yet to finalize their rulemaking which will determine the survey tool and how the data is submitted.

FSASC anticipates the final rule is still weeks, if not months away.

Don’t wait until the rule is final to get started! The first data submission will be due no later than July 2022. Depending on your center’s familiarity with the Culture of Safety survey process you may need to do a little work to get ready.

How are other centers getting ready?

There’s a lot to consider. Who do you need to lead the effort? Who will explain the process to staff members? How will you conduct the survey? What did the survey show? Do you have time to work on any areas that came back in the survey? Can you conduct another survey before the submission deadline?

What should you do first? Begin by reviewing existing materials. Then make a plan on how to prepare for the survey process. AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) has developed an ASC toolkit including a sample survey and user’s guide. To review these materials, click here to visit the AHRQ ASC site

It doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you plan accordingly. FSASC is developing resources for ASC administrators to help navigate this process. In the meantime, members can share their experiences and ask questions about the process through the online FSASC Member Community.

Member Alert 4-15-21

Begin Process Now to Report ASC Quality Data by May 17th

ASCA reports that 2,000 ASCs still have not registered to report their Medicare quality data and the registration process can take several weeks. As a reminder, ASCs that fail to report by the deadline are subject to a 2 percent cut to their fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare reimbursements for the following year. ASCs that plan to submit quality data but have not yet registered are advised to do so immediately so that they can meet the reporting deadline in May.

Your facility must have an active registered HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) account (either a Basic User or a Security Official) to enter data using the Web-Based Data Submission Tool on the Hospital Quality Reporting website. If your facility has no such active accounts, it will be necessary to create a Security Official (SO) account. Please note that Security Official is the new name for Security Administrator, the responsibilities remain the same.

You must have both your CMS Certification Number (CCN) and National Provider Identifier (NPI) on your form, and individuals can no longer self-authorize, meaning you will need to have another individual at your facility (e.g., an administrator, director of nursing or medical director) also sign the form. It is our understanding that these two errors—not providing both the CCN and NPI and not having another person authorize the SO—are delaying the process. Once you are authorized as the SO, you can then go in and add others who can also report. It is recommended that facilities have at least two active SOs for backup purposes.

As a reminder, the deadline for submitting ASCQR Program data is May 17, 2021, because May 15 falls on a Saturday this year. That means the reporting deadline for ASCs is just about one month away.

Suggested Resources

Need help with the process at your center, view this recorded webinar hosted by QualityNet - https://www.qualityreportingcenter.com/en/ascqr-program/2021-events/asc-02172021/

For further questions contact the QualityNet Help Desk at 866.288.8912.

Member Alert 3-24-21

Regulatory Alert: New ASC Pediatric Care Rule Affects Your ASC

Yesterday, the Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) published the final text for the pediatric rule. The rule goes into effect on April 7, 2021. AHCA did not make any changes to the text they proposed in February. That text was the result of a considerable dialog between the ASC industry and AHCA lasting several years.

The rule satisfies the statutory requirement that AHCA complete a pediatric rule prior to ASCs being allowed to offer U-18 patients 23-hour care. Although the rule was developed in the context of the 23-hour care setting, the language of the rule applies to all pediatric patients served by the ASC.

The rule places an age minimum for pediatric patients at 30 days old. Further clearances are needed for pre-mature birth patients. The rule sets in place quality standards governing the delivery of care including PALS certification, a list of equipment that must be age and size appropriate, quality assessment and improvement processes and additional criteria for length of stays past midnight.

ASCs must develop policies and procedures for the treatment of pediatric patients, approved by their Governing Board and appropriate admission criteria. Please review the final text of the proposed rule here.

If you have any questions about the pediatric rule or how it applies to your center, please contact us at 850.222.3000 or e-mail [email protected]

Thank you for being a member of FSASC.

Member Alert 12-21-20

FSASC Alert: Division of Workers’ Compensation Making Changes to ASC Reimbursement

The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation (Division) has taken the first step in the process of making changes to the ASC Reimbursement Manual. The Manual has remained unchanged since it went into effect in 2016.

The current reimbursement methodology has been strongly opposed by payors because it is based in facility charges which they argue are inherently flawed. They prefer a Medicare-based system like that introduced but not adopted in legislation the past several years. FSASC has successfully advocated to keep a charge-based reimbursement for ASCs which controls for outliers through Maximum Reimbursement Allowances (MRAs).

Member Alert 12-1-20

Regulatory Alert: AHCA Pediatric Care Rulemaking Hurts ASCs

The Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) recently released proposed rule language setting new requirements for pediatric care in the ASC. FSASC has reviewed the proposed new requirements and believes that many negate decades of ASC pediatric patient practice and form an unnecessary additional burden on ASCs treating pediatric patients.

AHCA Proposed Rule Text

Next Steps:
AHCA is gathering public testimony about the proposed rule on Wednesday, December 9^th beginning at 3 pm (see notice here). FSASC encourages its members to read the proposed rule text and to share it with physicians involved in pediatric care. FSASC also encourages its members to testify on the call or in writing during the comment period. We have prepared on outline of our concerns with the rule.