The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued waivers and allowances that will affect risk management programs, including 18 blanket waivers of sanctions under the Stark Law.

It is hard to dispute the fact that prior authorization requirements place a heavy burden on both patients and providers. Yet the number of services and medications requiring auths continues to increase. Read on to learn about several trends.

Generally, ASCs are perceived as safe, high-quality, low-cost settings for many surgical procedures. Typically, ASC costs are lower than those in the similarly safe and high-quality settings of hospital outpatient departments, which also handle same-day surgeries. However, the authors of a recent study found there is one striking exception: outpatient joint replacement surgery.

A program in the Chicago area is demonstrating the value of tailoring discharge plans to the particular needs of elderly patients with little support outside the hospital. These “solo seniors” often face complex medical challenges after discharge and can experience high rates of readmission without help from family and friends. With hospitals facing significant penalties from 30-day readmissions, the program could be a model for hospitals to emulate.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has made changes to its inpatient-only list that will shift many older patients to the same-day surgery setting. This makes it important for surgery centers to develop age-friendly sites.