What We Learned at ASCA: Compliance, Cardiovascular & (a Whole Lot of) Texting

Dialog Health
7 hours ago
3 min read

This year’s ASCA conference wasn’t just an excuse to show off our DH Nikes, it was a real-time pulse check on the state of the ASC industry—from regulatory headaches to patient texting hacks and everything in between. Here’s what stood out to us:

Compliance is Evolving (Finally)

Historically, compliance meant a mountain of paperwork and people buried under binders. But we’re now moving from people & paper → to digitization & dashboards → and toward automation & AI. It’s the classic crawl, walk, run progression, and ASCs are finding themselves somewhere between tying their shoes and a brisk jog.

A recurring theme? Independent ASCs are struggling—not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because they’re doing everything alone. Without the infrastructure of a larger organization, compliance gets heavy fast.

A few gems from a compliance session:

Every ASC needs a compliance playbook. You can’t focus on big-picture issues like infection control, safety or cost savings if you’re drowning in regulatory catch-up.
AI is your new best friend—but only if it complements your team. Don’t replace your compliance officer; give them a chatbot that reviews policies and flags updates.
Ask your vendors: “What are you doing with AI specifically for compliance?” If they shrug, run.

Cardiac in the ASC World = Complicated, But Full of Promise

Cardiovascular procedures are the new frontier in ASC growth—and it’s easy to see why. But don’t be fooled by the opportunity; this isn’t plug-and-play territory.

Regulations are stricter at the state level, so ASCs looking to expand into cardiac need deep local knowledge.
Coding for heart procedures is a choose-your-own-adventure nightmare. Two codes must be submitted in tandem or—poof—no reimbursement.
Caregiver communication post-op is critical. Most cardiac patients lean on family or friends for recovery, so ASCs need to prioritize communication with those folks as much as the patient.

And a hot tip: ASCs setting up cardiac services should be ready for long stays (6–8 hours isn’t unheard of), equipment costs, specialized staff and the joys of navigating pre-auths that vary wildly by state.

Texting Is No Longer a Nice-to-Have—It’s Table Stakes

Texting isn’t just about appointment reminders anymore (although, yes, those still get a 50% bump in patient satisfaction). It’s about reducing overhead, increasing efficiency and most importantly, meeting patients where they are.

Some interesting use cases we heard at ASCA:

Compliance team training texts (HIPAA, OSHA, and the all-important “why this matters” context).
On-demand nursing comms: Need to text a patient’s caregiver with an update? Make it easy.
Inventory tracking & automated caregiver updates via tracking boards tied to text alerts. Especially useful in rural areas where caregivers might squeeze in some errands while their family member is in their procedure.

And yes, two-way texting is the differentiator. Most ASCs have heard of it, few have implemented it well. Why? Data integration is the elephant in the OR.

Revenue Cycle: If You’re Not Measuring, You’re Not Managing

Shoutout to Jocelyn C. Gaddie of in2itive Business Solutions who reminded us: “What’s not measured can’t be managed.” RCM remains a sticking point for a lot of ASCs, especially as staffing shortages continue.

We heard a lot about:

The need for clear performance metrics to identify bottlenecks (and no, “we’ve always done it this way” isn’t a strategy).
Outsourced business ops (like coding) due to staffing gaps—aka, a contact center opportunity in disguise.
Text-based billing prompts are way more effective than snail mail and reduce costly follow-ups. The magic number? If a bill isn’t paid within 40 days, the likelihood of payment tanks.

Practical Tech, Not Pie-in-the-Sky AI

Let’s face it—AI in clinical decision-making is still a regulatory tightrope. But automation for scheduling, verification, patient reg, and pre-op comms? That’s here, that’s real, and it’s working.

Other tech themes:

EMRs are a major investment. Choose wisely, implement slowly, and vet your vendor’s post-go-live support like your center depends on it—because it does.
Staffing and inventory are your top two costs. Tech should ease that load, not add to it.
RFID is creeping in, replacing barcodes in some places. It’s still early days, but worth keeping an eye on.