ASC Focus January 2013

WEB CRAWL ASC RESOURCES Check out the links below on ASCA’s web site.

QUALITY REPORTING PROTOCOL CHANGES ON JANUARY 1 On January 1, 2013, ASCs should be- gin placing the quality data G-codes on claims where Medicare is either the primary or secondary payer. Download a G-codes cheat sheet that includes a timeline of important quality reporting dates and events and learn more about Medicare’s quality reporting program on ASCA’s web site. www.ascassociation.org/

QualityReporting

LEARN MORE ABOUT ASCAPAC “ASCAPAC is ASCA’s nonpartisan po- litical action committee and is the only organization of its kind in the country that represents the entire ASC commu- nity in Washington, DC.” www.ascassociation.org/ASCAPAC

UPLOAD A RESOURCE ON ASCA CONNECT Need to share a document with your ASC peers? Go to www.ascaconnect.org, scroll over “Communities” and click on “My Communities.” Select the community where you want your uploaded resource to appear and click on the “Library” tab. Under the header “Folder Contents” se- lect “New” and follow the on-screen in- structions to upload your document. www.ascaconnect.org

BY JOE HORNIG

READ THE DIGITAL EDITION OF ASC FOCUS Access ASC Focus magazine

from

wherever you are by reading the inter- active digital edition, which features page-flip animation and sound effects. You can also write notes, highlight sec- tions and share articles with friends or colleagues via email or social media web sites such as Facebook and Twitter. www.ascassociation.org/Focus

EXHIBITOR RESOURCES FOR ASCA 2013 Visit the online Exhibitor Service Center and access the exhibit hall map, the ex- hibitor prospectus, exhibitor registration, the exhibitor schedule and a list of FAQs and rules and restrictions for exhibitors. www.ascassociation.org/ASCA2013

in other news

Study Reveals Sigmoidoscopy Screening Reduces Colorectal Cancer Incidence

Flexible sigmoidoscopy screening was associated with a significant decrease in colorectal-cancer incidence (in both the distal and proximal colon) and mortality (distal colon only), in a National Cancer Institute study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2012. From 1993 to 2001, the research-

ers randomly assigned 154,900 men and women, 55 to 74 years old, ei- ther to screening with flexible sig- moidoscopy, with a repeat screen- ing at three or five years, or to the usual care recommended by the pa- tient’s physician. Of the 77,445 participants screened,

83.5 percent underwent baseline flexible sigmoidoscopy and 54 percent were screened at three or five years. The incidence of colorectal cancer after

a median follow-up of 11.9 years was 11.9 cases per 10,000 person-years in the screened group (1,012 cases), as compared with 15.2 cases per 10,000 person-years in the usual-care group (1,287 cases), which represents a 21 percent reduction, according to the results in NEJM. The incidence of distal colorectal

cancer decreased significantly with 479 cases in the group that underwent screening versus 669 cases in the usual- care group. The incidence of proximal colorectal cancer also went down with 512 cases versus 595 cases. There were 2.9 deaths from

colorectal cancer per 10,000 person- years in the screened group (252 deaths), and 3.9 per 10,000 person- years in the usual-care group (341 deaths). Mortality from distal colorectal

ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2013 33

cancer was reduced by 50 percent (87 deaths in the screened group versus 175 in the usual-care group). The mortality from proximal colorectal cancer was unaffected (143 and 147 deaths, respectively).

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