Healthcare administrators want to employ an Uber model for anesthesia services and have them available 24/7, but without properly allocating resources it may be impossible, according to an Anesthesia Business Consultants blog post.
Uber has revolutionized travel but could a similar model work for healthcare and anesthesiologists? Yes, but for the service to work as designed operating room productivity will have to drastically increase.
Inefficient OR utilization can cost anesthesia practices a fortune because they lose billable units. When ORs are more optimized, anesthesia groups can regain those lost billable units.
For an Uber model to succeed in anesthesia, it'll take flexibility from both sides.
"The challenge is to align the two, or at least to align the incentives of both the anesthesia providers and the administration," said Tony Mira, ABC's president. "Since the providers want fair and reasonable compensation and the hospital continuously strives to reduce its costs, there is little middle ground. And there won't be until there is an Uber app for anesthesia. Crazy you say? Who would have anticipated the success of Uber before it happened?"