At the 10th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago on June 15, Charles Militana, MD, director of anesthesia at Dorothy & Alvin Schwartz Ambulatory Surgery Center and director of ambulatory surgery centers with North American Partners in Anesthesia, discussed six goals anesthesia departments should strive to accomplish.
ASC relationships are comprised of anesthesia, ASC leadership, surgery professionals and nursing, but it must always be centered on the patient. In order to achieve this, the anesthesia department must have certain goals in place:
1. Achievement of the highest quality of care
2. Patient satisfaction
3. Efficient economic management
4. Maximizing appeal of the ASC to end-users (patients and surgeons)
5. Effective OR time management
6. Appropriate QA data collection
"Patient satisfaction is directly linked to an ASC's success. It doesn't matter how well you think you're doing – if the patient doesn't perceive your ASC as high value, there is work to do."
Dr. Militana also discussed key best practices including maintaining specific protocols for certain patient populations and having appointed leaders in the anesthesia department/staff.
ASC relationships are comprised of anesthesia, ASC leadership, surgery professionals and nursing, but it must always be centered on the patient. In order to achieve this, the anesthesia department must have certain goals in place:
1. Achievement of the highest quality of care
2. Patient satisfaction
3. Efficient economic management
4. Maximizing appeal of the ASC to end-users (patients and surgeons)
5. Effective OR time management
6. Appropriate QA data collection
"Patient satisfaction is directly linked to an ASC's success. It doesn't matter how well you think you're doing – if the patient doesn't perceive your ASC as high value, there is work to do."
Dr. Militana also discussed key best practices including maintaining specific protocols for certain patient populations and having appointed leaders in the anesthesia department/staff.