Let’s face it, ASCA knows how to put on an event and this year’s ASCA Winter Seminar (Jan 16th-18th) was exactly what we’ve come to expect. They began by picking a warmer location known for its great food, soulful music and French influence. Good ole New Orleans, Louisiana. The big easy. A break from the freezing northern temperatures would have been enough to get most of us down south, but they didn’t stop there. The venue, The InterContinental, is situated right down town within walking distance of many of the city’s main attractions: The French Quarter, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, The Garden District and the Riverwalk just to name a few. Thursday and Friday were jam-packed with sessions but Saturday left some time for exploring the historic city.
The sessions were rich with valuable knowledge and got increasingly specified as the event went on. We began the first day (Thursday) as a group with all attendees in one large meeting space. In short, we learned about many of the ancillary areas ASC administrators and managers must become knowledgeable on as they often operate as small businesses, even if they are owned or affiliated with a larger hospital or management company. We all got crash courses on: Team Culture, Social Media, some HR Basics and Improving Patient and Surgeon Satisfaction. It turns out, many ASC administrators and managers are facing the same barriers, and it’s great to have a community like ASCA to work together and find solutions to these complex issues.
Friday and Saturday’s sessions were increasingly more detailed as the Seminar broke into 3 tracks: ASC Management, Coding & Reimbursement and Finance & Accounting. By now, we’re in smaller groups which allowed for more detailed presentations and Q&A. Attendees loved submitting their questions through the ASCA Winter Seminar App rather than standing up infront of the entire group. Some popular sessions were: Having Difficult Conversations about an Employee’s Performance, 2020 Medicare Reimbursement and CPT Changes, Introduction to Revenue Cycle Management, Spine Coding from A to Z, Developing a Robust Infection Control Program and Orthopedics Coding Above and Below the Belt. The entire list of sessions can be viewed here.
All in all, we had a great time and learned a lot. in2itive was very proud to support this year’s conference both as exhibitors and as the connectivity provider. We were also pleased to have the opportunity to send 11 members of our staff to aide in their professional development and industry knowledge. Some hot topics this year were improving patient pay and Medicare reimbursement changes. Contact info@in2itive.org to learn more about these topics. If you’d like to continue the ASC conversation, connect with us on LinkedIN, Facebook and Twitter!