In this week’s episode, the second installment in our case costing series, Grant Duncan sits down with VMG Health’s Vanessa Sindell and Nancy Stephens to unpack the unsung hero of accurate case costing: a clean inventory master. They cover practical, do-it-today tactics like using naming conventions that work at the point of care, leveraging GPO data to understand all of your pricing options, and keeping preference cards current, so cost-per-case is surgeon ready. They also make the case for dedicating an FTE to the process to maximize cost savings.

In the news: the still-pending OPPS/ASC final rule, the implications of CMS site-neutrality efforts, a new analysis drawing scrutiny to UnitedHealthcare’s payments to Optum-employed physicians compared with market peers, and encouraging results for a multi-cancer blood test showing high detection accuracy alongside standard screening.

Resources Mentioned:

VMG Health

CMS’ delayed ASC rule release, explained (Becker’s ASC Review)

CMS’ site-neutral reform poised to upend hospital-ASC dynamics (Becker’s ASC Review)

Study suggests UnitedHealthcare pays Optum docs more than other providers (Fierce Healthcare)

A simple blood test can detect 50 types of cancer: We explain (USA Today)

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