Becker's Spine Review

46 OUTPATIENT SURGERY These are the most common ASC specialties — 8 statistics By Rachel Popa M edPAC's 2019 commission report to Con- gress outlined data on ASC characteristics, including what specialties are the most common. e majority of ASCs billing Medicare in 2017 special- ized in a single area. In 2017, 61 percent of ASCs were single-specialty and 40 percent were multispecialty. e top ASC specialties: 1. Gastroenterology: 21 percent 2. Ophthalmology: 21 percent 3. Pain management: 8 percent 4. Dermatology: 4 percent 5. Urology: 3 percent 6. Podiatry: 2 percent 7. Orthopedics/musculoskeletal: 1 percent 8. Respiratory: 1 percent n Laser Spine Institute shuts its doors, patients from 4 ASCs diverted: 5 things to know By Laura Dyrda T ampa, Fla.-based Laser Spine Institute was unable to se- cure financing to continue operations and closed March 1. Five things to know: 1. Over the past six months, the company closed three surgical centers and reduced its operating cost structure, but it was un- able to develop a sustainable cost structure. As a result, Laser Spine Institute ceased operations and transferred patients to lo- cal competitors. 2. Laser Spine Institute reached out to other surgical providers in affected communities to potentially send patients who were scheduled for procedures at the closed centers. The company also reached out to patients slated to have surgery after the centers closed and referred them to other in-market options. 3. The company reported it was unable to "attract the necessary financing to undertake a Chapter 11 process and continue op- erations." In 2016, it opened a new $56 million headquarters in Tampa. 4. Laser Spine Institute employed around 1,000 people at its four locations, including more than 500 in Tampa, according to ABC Action News. 5. Originally launched as a single operating room facility in Tam- pa in 2005, the organization has provided around 100,000 surgi- cal procedures for patients with back pain and neck pain. n Columbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane pays nearly $15K to resolve ransomware attack affecting 400,000 patients: 4 details By Rachel Popa C olumbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane (Wash.) re- ported a ransomware attack affecting 400,000 patients to the HHS' Office for Civil Rights Breach portal Feb. 18. The key details to know: 1. Columbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane sent a letter to its patients informing them of the attack, detailing that the practice had paid the attackers $14,649.09 to unlock en- crypted files. The practice said the ransom was paid by the practice's physicians, and will not be passed on to patients. 2. The attack occurred in January, and Columbia Surgical Specialists believes the data wasn't acquired or used by the attackers. 3. Columbia Surgical Specialists said they are reviewing their procedures and protocols to prevent a ransomware incident from occurring again. 4. This attack is the second largest reported to the OCR portal in 2019 so far, preceded by the data breach affect- ing 974,000 patients of Seattle-based UW Medicine. n

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