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Money owed to outside vendors for products and services rendered.

Money due to an ASC for services rendered that has not yet been received.

The total, unadjusted amount of outstanding, uncollected accounts receivable. This number should reflect the gross charges in the accounts receivable, not what an ASC expects to collect. Includes amounts for contractual allowances & bad debts before they are adjusted for or written off.

An evaluative process in which a healthcare organization undergoes an examination of its policies, procedures and performance by an external organization ("accrediting body") to ensure that it is meeting predetermined criteria. It usually involves both on- and off-site surveys.

An accounting method that recognizes financial transactions based on the period in which they occurred.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (see also PALS)

Ambulatory Payment Classifications is a method of paying for facility outpatient services for Medicare. APCs are an outpatient prospective payment system applicable only to hospitals. APC payments are made to hospitals when the Medicare outpatient is discharged from the Emergency Department or clinic or is transferred to another hospital or other facility which is not affiliated with the initial hospital where the patient received outpatient services.

The fee Medicare sets as reasonable for a covered medical service. This is the amount a doctor or supplier is paid by the patient and Medicare for a service or supply. It may be less than the actual amount charged by a doctor or supplier. The approved amount is sometimes called the "Approved Charge."

Valuable economic resources that are expected to benefit an ASC in the future. Assets may be either tangible (having substance or form) or intangible (without substance or form). Cash, land, inventory, buildings, equipment and an ASC’s reputation all are examples of assets. The first five are tangible and the last intangible. Not all items of value, however, are considered assets. To be treated as an asset, an item must be of value and must be (1) controlled by the ASC and (2) the result of a past identifiable event or transaction. Thus, while good highway access to an ASC is valuable, it is not accounted for as an asset as the ASC does not control the highway.

A measurement of the average number of days between the time the ASC delivers a service and the day it collects payment for that service.

A statement showing all of the assets, liabilities and net equity of an ASC. The balance sheet provides a snapshot of an ASC’s financial position at a given point in time.

A benchmark is sustained superior performance by a medical care provider, which can be used as a reference to raise the mainstream of care for Medicare beneficiaries by comparing other medical care providers’ performance to this “superior” one. The relative definition of superior will vary from situation to situation. In many instances an appropriate benchmark would be a provider that appears in the top 10% of all providers for more than a year.