Charleen Tacket, administrator of Vital Heart & Vein in Houston, joined Becker's to discuss how patient experience is often missed in conversations with insurance companies.
Editor's note: This interview was edited lightly for clarity and length.
Question: What do you wish payers would consider about patient experience at ASCs?
Charleen Tackett: From our perspective, we have many patients saying they'd rather have a procedure done here other than the hospital. It's easy to get to. It's easy to park. It's quick in-an-out and their families feel comfortable. We hear that comment a ton. From a payer prescriptive – these patients are their client – and maybe they don't know that side or don't consider that their clients would rather have their procedure in an ASC. It's a great service to provide them, not only the patients but the payers, at a lower cost to them.
Q: Why do you think that payers aren't clued into patient perspectives in these conversations?
CT: I'm not sure that they don't think about it. I'm not sure it's intentional, but it's hard to know the patient's perspective. We're in a large city, and if you're going to a large hospital like The Texas Medical Center it's $15-a-day to park and, while it's a wonderful place to get procedures, elderly patients find it a hassle. And if it's an outpatient surgery that can be done easily, elderly patients, from their perspective, would much rather have it done in an ambulatory setting where they can be comfortable, and they're in and out quicker.