Jared Leger, RN, CEO and managing partner of Arise Healthcare, shares six creative tips for keeping surgery center physicians happy and involving them in ASC operations.
1. Provide a monthly financial summary sheet with tips for improvement. Most surgery centers distribute regular financial information to physician partners to keep them updated on ASC costs and revenues. Mr. Leger says ASCs can help physicians understand the relevant information by attaching a cover sheet that summarizes the most important facts for the month. "If the physician is busy, it takes five minutes to read the summary and understand how the center is doing," Mr. Leger says.
He says the summary page can also include a few tips for physician improvement. For example, the page might ask orthopedic physicians to consider a certain implant company for distal radius fractures in order to save the surgery center money. The page could also encourage physician timeliness by calculating the amount of money lost with every 15-minute case lag. "We give the physicians ways they can improve case profitability, assuming it's clinically appropriate," Mr. Leger says.
2. Create a "physicians only" room in your surgery center. If possible, Mr. Leger encourages surgery centers to create a private lounge where physicians can use a telephone or laptop between cases. Many small surgery centers use a common break room area for staff and physicians, which can build team cohesion but also causes problems if physicians need to take care of personal business.
"What if a doctor has to call his attorney about a medical malpractice suit?" Mr. Leger says. "He wants to have a private area to do that." Even if the "lounge" is just a closet with a table and chair, laptop and telephone, labeling the room "physicians only" will give a sense of privacy. Mr. Leger adds that hospitals generally provide a private area for physicians, so surgery centers should consider the addition if they want to compete.
3. Invite physicians to give talks at the facility. While surgery centers are legally prevented from spending money on physician-partner marketing, they can invite physicians to give free talks at the facility, Mr. Leger says. The center can invite local physicians and community members to a physician-led talk on a subject like minimally invasive procedures. "After the talk, they can have a one-on-one conversation in the waiting room, and the public can ask questions and receive a free consult," he says. This form of marketing benefits the surgery center and the physician by opening up the ASC to the public and branding the provider as a local expert.
4. Customize physician discharge forms. If a physician uses your ASC on a regular basis, customize his discharge forms and postoperative instructions to save him time explaining his specific instructions to patients. "Reach out to the doctor and say, 'You're here every Thursday, so let us customize the forms to make your life easier and faster,'" Mr. Leger says. The forms can provide specific physician contact information, details on his preferred home health company and any specific guidelines he would like to communicate to patients. Physicians will feel appreciated when they arrive at the PACU and find the personalized forms waiting for them.
5. Color code physician labels for privacy curtains. Make sure physicians can find their patients as easily as possible, Mr. Leger says. If a physician walks into the patient bay late and every nurse is busy with another patient, she may feel frustrated that she can't find her patient without looking for an available staff member. To solve this problem, choose a color for each physician and create labels in those colors to attach to the privacy curtains. If a physician is late, this shortens the patient's wait, improves patient satisfaction and allows the physician get to work without scrambling for help.
6. Send out a weekly "report card." Mr. Leger recommends distributing a weekly "report card" that updates physicians on upcoming events and provides feedback on recent work. The report card can categorize topics as green, yellow and red. The green section lists the physician's recent accomplishments; for example, the card might read, "Thank you for using the most cost-effective implant in your case last week" or "Thank you for attending our open house event." The yellow section reminds the physician of upcoming events that need his or her attention within the next few days. For example, the card might remind the physician that he or she has an important case coming up, and the ASC doesn't know which company to use for the implant. The yellow section might also remind the physician that his or her dictations from three days ago have not been completed.
The red section contains items that need the physician's attention immediately. For example, if the physician has not completed dictations from seven days ago, the red area might remind him or her to start the dictations today. "The report card gives the administrator another way to interact with the doctor," Mr. Leger says.
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1. Provide a monthly financial summary sheet with tips for improvement. Most surgery centers distribute regular financial information to physician partners to keep them updated on ASC costs and revenues. Mr. Leger says ASCs can help physicians understand the relevant information by attaching a cover sheet that summarizes the most important facts for the month. "If the physician is busy, it takes five minutes to read the summary and understand how the center is doing," Mr. Leger says.
He says the summary page can also include a few tips for physician improvement. For example, the page might ask orthopedic physicians to consider a certain implant company for distal radius fractures in order to save the surgery center money. The page could also encourage physician timeliness by calculating the amount of money lost with every 15-minute case lag. "We give the physicians ways they can improve case profitability, assuming it's clinically appropriate," Mr. Leger says.
2. Create a "physicians only" room in your surgery center. If possible, Mr. Leger encourages surgery centers to create a private lounge where physicians can use a telephone or laptop between cases. Many small surgery centers use a common break room area for staff and physicians, which can build team cohesion but also causes problems if physicians need to take care of personal business.
"What if a doctor has to call his attorney about a medical malpractice suit?" Mr. Leger says. "He wants to have a private area to do that." Even if the "lounge" is just a closet with a table and chair, laptop and telephone, labeling the room "physicians only" will give a sense of privacy. Mr. Leger adds that hospitals generally provide a private area for physicians, so surgery centers should consider the addition if they want to compete.
3. Invite physicians to give talks at the facility. While surgery centers are legally prevented from spending money on physician-partner marketing, they can invite physicians to give free talks at the facility, Mr. Leger says. The center can invite local physicians and community members to a physician-led talk on a subject like minimally invasive procedures. "After the talk, they can have a one-on-one conversation in the waiting room, and the public can ask questions and receive a free consult," he says. This form of marketing benefits the surgery center and the physician by opening up the ASC to the public and branding the provider as a local expert.
4. Customize physician discharge forms. If a physician uses your ASC on a regular basis, customize his discharge forms and postoperative instructions to save him time explaining his specific instructions to patients. "Reach out to the doctor and say, 'You're here every Thursday, so let us customize the forms to make your life easier and faster,'" Mr. Leger says. The forms can provide specific physician contact information, details on his preferred home health company and any specific guidelines he would like to communicate to patients. Physicians will feel appreciated when they arrive at the PACU and find the personalized forms waiting for them.
5. Color code physician labels for privacy curtains. Make sure physicians can find their patients as easily as possible, Mr. Leger says. If a physician walks into the patient bay late and every nurse is busy with another patient, she may feel frustrated that she can't find her patient without looking for an available staff member. To solve this problem, choose a color for each physician and create labels in those colors to attach to the privacy curtains. If a physician is late, this shortens the patient's wait, improves patient satisfaction and allows the physician get to work without scrambling for help.
6. Send out a weekly "report card." Mr. Leger recommends distributing a weekly "report card" that updates physicians on upcoming events and provides feedback on recent work. The report card can categorize topics as green, yellow and red. The green section lists the physician's recent accomplishments; for example, the card might read, "Thank you for using the most cost-effective implant in your case last week" or "Thank you for attending our open house event." The yellow section reminds the physician of upcoming events that need his or her attention within the next few days. For example, the card might remind the physician that he or she has an important case coming up, and the ASC doesn't know which company to use for the implant. The yellow section might also remind the physician that his or her dictations from three days ago have not been completed.
The red section contains items that need the physician's attention immediately. For example, if the physician has not completed dictations from seven days ago, the red area might remind him or her to start the dictations today. "The report card gives the administrator another way to interact with the doctor," Mr. Leger says.
Related Articles on Surgery Center Physicians:
100 Statistics on Physician Compensation
ACPE's Dr. Barry Silbaugh: Disruptive Physician Behavior Won't Go Away
6 Steps Pain Physicians Can Take to Curtail Misuse of Opioids