The Final Rule is Out and We’ve Laid Out How Anesthesia Will Be Impacted
Another gut punch to the continued declining reimbursement for anesthesia. The Final Rule was released for the Calendar Year (CY) 2022, and the Medicare National Anesthesia Conversion Factor dropped 2.9%, from $21.56 to $20.93. Outlined here are changes brought about by the CMS Final Rule that affect anesthesia, both good and bad.
Seven ASC leaders spoke with Becker’s on physician compensation trends they’ve noticed in the last year. For example, “Physician compensation will continue to face downward pressures as the federal government becomes more involved with healthcare changes and hospitals increase their share of bundled payments and cost savings. Physicians will need to explore more ancillary opportunities and increase their strength through numbers to overcome the powerful forces of big government and hospital lobbies.”
Statement on the Role of Anesthesiologists in the Practice of Adult Critical Care Medicine
The American Society of Anesthesiologists provides their statements on the role of anesthesiologists in adult critical care medicine. Their Critical Care Medicine Committee statement was approved by the ASA House of Delegates.
Why Praising Competitors Can Make a Health System Seem More Trustworthy
Brands usually are apprehensive about complimenting competitors, as many marketers say doing so gives a rival free publicity. However, health systems might have an opportunity to improve patients’ perceptions of them by giving competitors their due, according to a study in the Journal of Marketing. The study, published Sept. 29, conducted experiments with nearly 4,000 participants. For one experiment, researchers showed participants a fake tweet from Kit Kat that said, “Competitor or not, congrats on your 54 years in business! Even we can admit — Twix are delicious.”
10 Specialties with the Highest Markups Over Medicare
Research from the Urban Institute found that among many healthcare specialties, markups above Medicare prices were upward of 330 percent. The discrepancies between Medicare prices and prices between physicians and private insurers represent potential payment rate reductions, according to the study. Here are the 10 specialties with the highest average markups over Medicare prices:
Anesthesiology Needs to Be Greener, Multinational Group Says
An international group of anesthesiologists has written a consensus statement emphasizing the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and medical waste in daily practice, as well as promote environmental sustainability in education, research, and quality improvement initiatives. Published online November 1 in Anesthesia, the document lays out seven general principles that are “achievable globally, with minimal material resources and financial investment.”
