Joe Ollayos, administrator of Tinley Park, Ill.-based Ingalls Same Day Surgery Center, outlines three important business concepts for ASC operators and where his focus will be next year.
Mr. Ollayos will share his expertise as a speaker at the Becker's ASC 26th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, Oct. 24-26, 2019 in Chicago. To learn more and register, click here. For more information about exhibitor and sponsor opportunities, contact Maura Jodoin at mjodoin@beckershealthcare.com.
Question: What are your three core concepts for being successful in business?
1. Make patient care a shared mission. Surgeons and their office staff are customers, and we are marketing operating room minutes, but it all goes back to serving the patient. Quality outcomes, patient satisfaction and an effective revenue cycle — convenient scheduling, accurate benefits verification, collection of patient-due balances starting with time-of-service copays — are all enhanced by patient engagement.
2. Take care of your employees. Studies show that competent, properly trained, engaged staff are the No. 1 driver of surgeon satisfaction as well as patient (consumer) confidence.
3. Safety first. A dynamic and growing trend in healthcare is the development of the high-reliability organization. Patients need to feel safe to have a great experience. Surgeons want their patients to have great outcomes, which starts with a safe environment. Avoiding liability by preventing accidents and injury speaks for itself.
Q: What is the top focus for you and your ASC in 2019?
Surgeon recruitment and alignment. In our specific case, our hospital joint venture partner has merged with a larger health system. Our No. 1 opportunity for growth in the next year is engaging the health system's employed physician group and working with their surgery and endoscopy departments to bring appropriate cases [to the ASC]. We offer a classic ASC value proposition: quality, safety, convenience, economy, personalized service, accommodating patient (consumer) choice — and fast turnover times between cases.
To participate in future Becker's Q&As, contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com.
For a deeper dive into ASC operations, attend the Becker's 17th Annual Future of Spine + Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC in Chicago, June 13-5, 2019. Click here to learn more and register.