Attendees of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) 2024 Conference & Expo can hear presentations from Surgical Information Systems (SIS) experts who will be covering timely and important topics.
ASC Cybersecurity
First up is Paul Alcock, DIT, CISSP, CCSP, CCISO, CISM, GCIH, Chief information Security Officer. He will present on "Protect, Prevent, Prevail: A Proactive Approach to Cybersecurity in ASCs" on Thursday, April 18, from 9:10 am–10:10 am. This session is sure to be well attended given the cyberattack on Change Healthcare.
"The extensive effects of this cyberattack underscores the importance for all healthcare providers, including ASCs, to make cybersecurity a top area of focus and keep it an ongoing priority," says Dr. Alcock. "A proactive approach to cybersecurity will help surgery centers reduce the likelihood that they will fall victim to a successful cyberattack and better ensure preparedness to respond to a successful attack against the facility or a vendor partner."
During his session, Dr. Alcock will focus on how ASCs can identify their own cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks, discuss proactive measures centers should take to improve their security posture, explain how to foster a stronger cybersecurity culture that helps reduce risk, and outline how to execute effective incident response and recovery. He will include discussion of the Change Healthcare incident and lessons learned.
"I want to ensure attendees leave my session with knowledge on what they can do to further project their ASCs from cybercriminals," Dr. Alcock says. "These bad actors are targeting healthcare aggressively. To successfully combat cybercriminals, we must all treat cybersecurity as a responsibility and work together to share the best practices that will help protect us against the rapidly evolving landscape of threats."
ASC Billing
Later on Thursday, April 18, ASCA attendees can hear Jessica Nelson, Vice President of Revenue Cycle Services, present "Billing Practices That Can Transform ASC Performance" from 2:20 pm–3:35 pm. An ASC can achieve success in many areas, from recruiting great surgeons and building case volume to retaining staff and running a lean operation, but if billing practices come up short, a center can quickly find itself in financial distress.
"It's not easy for ASCs to achieve billing success," says Nelson. "There's a lot that can go wrong throughout the billing process that can lead to delays in payment or even the loss of part or all of a payment. Surgery centers must understand where their revenue cycle is most vulnerable to errors and oversights that can stifle collections and efforts to capture full reimbursement for services rendered."
During her session, Nelson will dive into the area where ASC billing efforts often go awry: coding. She will explain common coding challenges and how centers can effectively overcome them. Nelson will build on this guidance to discuss how ASCs can better ensure they are submitting clean claims, then discuss factors that can cause denials and how to avoid making these mistakes. Finally, she'll examine how data and technology can be an ASC billing difference-maker.
"Despite the many challenges associated with revenue cycle management, there's good news for ASCs," Nelson says. "A concerted effort to identify the challenges affecting billing and then developing processes to address them can make a huge difference for a center's bottom line. Attendees of my talk will come away with a stronger understanding of how to evaluate their billing performance and actions they can take to enhance it."
Meet With SIS at ASCA 2024
ASCA 2024 attendees can speak with Dr. Alcock, Nelson, and other members of the SIS team at exhibit booth #909. SIS will be showcasing the latest in ASC software and unveiling new functionality that will help surgery centers Operate Smart™. Stop by to see these solutions firsthand and pick up some fun swag that will make ASCA 2024 even more enjoyable!
