Case Law
A Critical Regulatory Issue:
Ambulatory Surgery Centers
What is an Ambulatory Surgery Center? It is a medical facility which is designed in order for people to be able to have elective same-day surgeries rather than having to deal with the amount of traffic which most hospitals have. Since it is not a hospital, it does not have emergency care. A facility such as this would mean that a patient does not have to stay overnight as they would if admitted to a hospital. The patient is able to go home once the procedure is complete. This type of organization does have a lot of legal issues; and some of those legal issues will be read about in this paper; issues that deal with physician ownership, Medicare cases, and even out of network waivers. A surgical center takes a lot of endeavor in running a surgical center as well as learning what type of legal issues might be included when running this type of a center.
Legal Concerns A main concern that is a prevalent legal debate in an ambulatory surgery center is when an owner is getting out of the business and a new owner is going to “buy-out” that owner. Many centers struggle with their current contracts regarding buying as well as the legal obligation of selling the center for the retail value. If the surgery center was being sold due to finances, it would be more difficult to find a buyer who will give the fair market price. There is a need to watch and assess which new owner can/will increase the productivity of the center. One more debate which involves a physician ownership is that there are new revised coverage rules and regulations that are required for an early notice of physician financial interests. The coverage rules require that ambulatory surgery centers get in touch with the clients of a physician financial interest in the center before the patients surgery in writing. The patient needs to arrange an initial appointment in the center before the surgery date; because if the patient is not seen
Ambulatory Surgery Centers
What is an Ambulatory Surgery Center? It is a medical facility which is designed in order for people to be able to have elective same-day surgeries rather than having to deal with the amount of traffic which most hospitals have. Since it is not a hospital, it does not have emergency care. A facility such as this would mean that a patient does not have to stay overnight as they would if admitted to a hospital. The patient is able to go home once the procedure is complete. This type of organization does have a lot of legal issues; and some of those legal issues will be read about in this paper; issues that deal with physician ownership, Medicare cases, and even out of network waivers. A surgical center takes a lot of endeavor in running a surgical center as well as learning what type of legal issues might be included when running this type of a center.
Legal Concerns A main concern that is a prevalent legal debate in an ambulatory surgery center is when an owner is getting out of the business and a new owner is going to “buy-out” that owner. Many centers struggle with their current contracts regarding buying as well as the legal obligation of selling the center for the retail value. If the surgery center was being sold due to finances, it would be more difficult to find a buyer who will give the fair market price. There is a need to watch and assess which new owner can/will increase the productivity of the center. One more debate which involves a physician ownership is that there are new revised coverage rules and regulations that are required for an early notice of physician financial interests. The coverage rules require that ambulatory surgery centers get in touch with the clients of a physician financial interest in the center before the patients surgery in writing. The patient needs to arrange an initial appointment in the center before the surgery date; because if the patient is not seen
References: Baker, J. J. (2002, Spring). Medicare Payment System for Ambulatory Surgical Centers. Journal of Health Care Finance, 28(1), 76-87. Dunn, L. (2009, January). Ambulatory Surgical Center Review. Retrieved from http://www.beckerasc.com/news-analysis-asc/antikickback-legal-regulatory/top-lawyers-discuss-current-critical-legal-issues-facing-surgery-centers.html