Brent Lambert, MD, is the principle and founder of physician-owned ambulatory surgery center development company Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America in Hanover, Mass.
Here are Dr. Lambert's eight tips to improve ASC operations.
1. Update your chargemaster. Updating the surgery center chargemaster yearly is a simple way to collect found dollars and ensure charging payors an appropriate amount of money for services.
2. Compress the schedule. Schedule ASC cases so operating rooms are continuously occupied, and close the center when cases have been completed.
3. Stay on top of contracts. Renegotiate managed care contracts yearly to avoid lost revenue potential from lapsed contracts
4. Recruit even in saturated markets. Seek to recruit physicians located out of reach of hospital employment to populate an ASC in a saturated market.
5. Get creative to find physicians. Reach out to physicians who have recently relocated to an area or who are about to relocate and invite them to join you surgery center.
6. Meet physician needs. When pursuing potential physician partners, ask what tools or technology the physician needs and be willing to accommodate the request.
7. Be conscious of debt. Accumulating debt can be an unfixable problem for ASCs, so work to pay off debts quickly.
8. Use group buying power. ASCs should investigate group purchasing organizations for getting cheaper rates on surgical supplies.
More Articles on Improving Profits:
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Here are Dr. Lambert's eight tips to improve ASC operations.
1. Update your chargemaster. Updating the surgery center chargemaster yearly is a simple way to collect found dollars and ensure charging payors an appropriate amount of money for services.
2. Compress the schedule. Schedule ASC cases so operating rooms are continuously occupied, and close the center when cases have been completed.
3. Stay on top of contracts. Renegotiate managed care contracts yearly to avoid lost revenue potential from lapsed contracts
4. Recruit even in saturated markets. Seek to recruit physicians located out of reach of hospital employment to populate an ASC in a saturated market.
5. Get creative to find physicians. Reach out to physicians who have recently relocated to an area or who are about to relocate and invite them to join you surgery center.
6. Meet physician needs. When pursuing potential physician partners, ask what tools or technology the physician needs and be willing to accommodate the request.
7. Be conscious of debt. Accumulating debt can be an unfixable problem for ASCs, so work to pay off debts quickly.
8. Use group buying power. ASCs should investigate group purchasing organizations for getting cheaper rates on surgical supplies.
More Articles on Improving Profits:
Springfield Clinic Ambulatory Surgery & Endoscopy Center Chooses Surgical Information Systems
8 Good Ideas for More Efficient ASC Operating Rooms
6 Quick Strategies to Keep ASC Costs Low