COVER STORY


care & Medicaid Services (CMS) will lead commercial and govern- ment payer organizations in carving up the new healthcare ecosystem. We can expect many more changes coming from the federal govern- ment under heavy influence from industry-focused organizations, not the least of which is the American Hospital Association (AHA). With $303,430,068.00 in assets, the AHA carries weight. They are weighing in heavily to guide the reconstruction of the American healthcare system that is now underway. Okay, so what about the good


news? To quote Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” If we have learned anything from COVID-19, it is that ASCs offer more than just higher effi- ciency and quality. We are a critical alternative to hospitals and hospital outpatient departments and a compo- nent of the healthcare system’s infra- structure that must be supported, nur- tured and expanded. It is of obvious importance that we carry this mes- sage to the lawmakers and other fed- eral leadership who will be molding the new medical landscape. CMS recently acted to expand our industry offering to include more procedures, not the least of which is


total hip


replacement. This comes as no sur- prise, given the billions in greater effi- ciency that we have demonstrated and ASCA’s tireless efforts to promote ASCs to regulators and lawmakers. More good news? Although the AHA has enormous industry weight behind it, we have a sleeping giant at our disposal. We have already done so much with so little, but we can do far more.


This year, when the new political landscape has been established, the vast majority of the 6,000 ASCs in this country will likely have recov- ered financially from the COVID cri-


sis. Going into this year, please take a moment to review ASCA’s poten- tial to make an impact with our fed- eral leadership. Host a facility tour and invite your representative to visit your ASC. It is only through educat- ing our representatives that we will make sure our interest is not ignored at the Capitol. Celebrate National Advocacy Day, fly into Washington, DC, to meet your Congressperson and make your case.


This year will be the most impor- tant our community will have faced in its young history. Whether 2021 goes down in the annals as positive or nega- tive is in our hands.


Gregory Horner, MD, is the the chair of of ASCAPAC and chief executive officer of HealthPoint Surgery Center Management, LLC, in Pleasanton, California. Write him at greg@hpasc.com.


FGI Proposes Changes for 2022 Guidelines


for Outpatient Facilities Revisions include removal, addition and clarification of requirements BY DAVID SHAPIRO, MD, CASC


The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) publishes the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Outpatient Facilities, a


unique and valuable source of informa- tion regarding best practices in planning, designing and constructing healthcare facilities, including ASCs. ASCs need to be aware of the recommendations con- tained in the document, especially dur- ing all phases of planning, construction or remodeling of our facilities. They reflect the most recent approaches to cre- ating a physical environment whereby our patients can receive the highest lev- els of quality healthcare when seeking treatment at our ASCs, regardless of where they are located.


2022 Proposed Outpatient Changes For the 2022 edition, the revision pro- cess commenced in the spring of 2018 when the Steering Committee of the FGI Health Guidelines Revision Com- mittee (HGRC) began reviewing new


20 ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2021 | ascfocus.org


member candidates. Invitation letters were sent over the summer, and the 2022 HGRC membership was final- ized by October 2018. At the same time, FGI invested in the development of a new online proposal/comment platform to support collection of input from the industry. Several revisions in the outpa- tient draft apply to multiple outpatient facility types. These changes include removal of the clear floor area require- ment for various patient care stations, allowing clearances to determine their size as was done for other spaces in the 2018 guidelines; clarification of requirements for pharmacies and other medication preparation facilities; and additions and clarifications to the requirements for staff support areas and architectural details in chapters lacking these details. A new chapter has been proposed


for extended stay centers, which are intended for association with outpa- tient surgery or freestanding emergency


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