Here are five smart tips for successful surgery centers.
1. Pick your team well. By selecting the team that works together, everything flows better, says Chris Zorn, vice president of sales for Spine Surgical Innovation and executive director of Minimal Incision-Maximum Sight (MIMS) Institute. You should rarely see rotation of OR staff during a procedure. "In many hospital ORs outside of the United States, a team has come together because they like the type of cases and who they work with it seems," he says. "Obviously no surgeon will be forced to work with team members he/she doesn't want in room, anywhere. In ASCs you are recruiting the best you know. It matters."
2. Schedule cases efficiently. When cases have a low chance of running long or over schedule, it makes sense to schedule them earlier in the morning; cases that are less predictable should be scheduled later in the day so fewer cases run the risk of starting late.
"Procedures like knee surgery and carpal tunnel release can be done at the beginning of the day," says Larry Teuber, MD, chief medical officer and president of Medical Facilities Corporation and founder and physician executive of Black Hills Surgery Center. "Spinal fusions, revision joint replacements and other spinal procedures should be scheduled at the end of the day."
3. Keep track of important dates in the contract. Identifying the expiration date for rate renegotiation, termination notification and other important dates for each payor is important for all surgery centers. Some payors allow 90 days for contract termination while others allow 150 days, which means knowing the language of each separate contract is absolutely necessary. To keep all of this information straight, Tom Faith of The C/N Group, suggests creating a spreadsheet with important dates and information about each payor. Print off the spreadsheet and post it on the wall so it's available to everyone at any time throughout the year. Having the information visible also reminds practice administrators to keep track of the contracts and reinforces the different dates associated with each contract.
4. Compare the old contract to actual rates received. One of the first things surgery center administrators should do is to examine their old contracts and make sure that they have been receiving full reimbursement. "If the contracts call for percentage increases over time for annually renewed evergreen contracts, they need to ensure those reimbursement increases are actually being paid," says Steve Arnold, MD, chief medical officer at Access MediQuip.
When you are negotiating a new rate for an old contract, it's still important to know whether the payor has adhered to the old contract. "If the contract says the surgery center should get $5,000 for the procedure and sometimes the company only reimbursed $4,000, you need to ask why," says Dr. Arnold. "If the payor doesn't give you a reasonable answer, then you need to recoup the money that was not paid before you move into a new contract."
Those losses from the previous contract can be applied to the new contract through various arrangements.
5. Compensate staff appropriately for retention. Economic pressures are making life more difficult for surgery center employees, who often experience unpredictable hours and lower compensation than they would receive at the local hospital. John Merski Jr., Managing Partner and Executive Director of Human Resources for MedHQ, says employee dissatisfaction can increase quickly if the surgery center is not offering a competitive compensation and benefits package.
He says most surgery centers fail to create a rationale that lays out how much each employee will make. "Of all the surgery centers I have been exposed to, very, very few have a structured compensation and benefits program," he says. "When they hire someone, they think, 'We'll just pay him $20 an hour because that's what we've done before.'" He says surgery center leaders should sit down and look at national and local benchmarks to determine a salary range for each employee. Then they should take into consideration individual experience, responsibility, impact on the center and pool of candidates to determine a fair wage.
More Articles on ASCs:
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5 Mistakes Surgery Centers Make When Dealing With Payors
1. Pick your team well. By selecting the team that works together, everything flows better, says Chris Zorn, vice president of sales for Spine Surgical Innovation and executive director of Minimal Incision-Maximum Sight (MIMS) Institute. You should rarely see rotation of OR staff during a procedure. "In many hospital ORs outside of the United States, a team has come together because they like the type of cases and who they work with it seems," he says. "Obviously no surgeon will be forced to work with team members he/she doesn't want in room, anywhere. In ASCs you are recruiting the best you know. It matters."
2. Schedule cases efficiently. When cases have a low chance of running long or over schedule, it makes sense to schedule them earlier in the morning; cases that are less predictable should be scheduled later in the day so fewer cases run the risk of starting late.
"Procedures like knee surgery and carpal tunnel release can be done at the beginning of the day," says Larry Teuber, MD, chief medical officer and president of Medical Facilities Corporation and founder and physician executive of Black Hills Surgery Center. "Spinal fusions, revision joint replacements and other spinal procedures should be scheduled at the end of the day."
3. Keep track of important dates in the contract. Identifying the expiration date for rate renegotiation, termination notification and other important dates for each payor is important for all surgery centers. Some payors allow 90 days for contract termination while others allow 150 days, which means knowing the language of each separate contract is absolutely necessary. To keep all of this information straight, Tom Faith of The C/N Group, suggests creating a spreadsheet with important dates and information about each payor. Print off the spreadsheet and post it on the wall so it's available to everyone at any time throughout the year. Having the information visible also reminds practice administrators to keep track of the contracts and reinforces the different dates associated with each contract.
4. Compare the old contract to actual rates received. One of the first things surgery center administrators should do is to examine their old contracts and make sure that they have been receiving full reimbursement. "If the contracts call for percentage increases over time for annually renewed evergreen contracts, they need to ensure those reimbursement increases are actually being paid," says Steve Arnold, MD, chief medical officer at Access MediQuip.
When you are negotiating a new rate for an old contract, it's still important to know whether the payor has adhered to the old contract. "If the contract says the surgery center should get $5,000 for the procedure and sometimes the company only reimbursed $4,000, you need to ask why," says Dr. Arnold. "If the payor doesn't give you a reasonable answer, then you need to recoup the money that was not paid before you move into a new contract."
Those losses from the previous contract can be applied to the new contract through various arrangements.
5. Compensate staff appropriately for retention. Economic pressures are making life more difficult for surgery center employees, who often experience unpredictable hours and lower compensation than they would receive at the local hospital. John Merski Jr., Managing Partner and Executive Director of Human Resources for MedHQ, says employee dissatisfaction can increase quickly if the surgery center is not offering a competitive compensation and benefits package.
He says most surgery centers fail to create a rationale that lays out how much each employee will make. "Of all the surgery centers I have been exposed to, very, very few have a structured compensation and benefits program," he says. "When they hire someone, they think, 'We'll just pay him $20 an hour because that's what we've done before.'" He says surgery center leaders should sit down and look at national and local benchmarks to determine a salary range for each employee. Then they should take into consideration individual experience, responsibility, impact on the center and pool of candidates to determine a fair wage.
More Articles on ASCs:
9 Points for ASCs on Achieving Financial Solvency
Which Procedures Do Surgery Centers Perform Most? 40 Statistics on 4 Common Specialties
5 Mistakes Surgery Centers Make When Dealing With Payors