Advances in cloud-based technology are changing how surgeries are coordinated.
This technology has replaced the need for manually faxing information and making numerous phone calls to coordinate surgeries by allowing everything to be done online using a central cloud-based hub. Surgery coordination technology enables healthcare providers and their disparate software systems to be connected. These systems also make it significantly easier and safer for physician offices to schedule cases at surgery centers and hospitals by introducing a web-based application available to both the office and medical facility. Through these applications, physician offices can schedule cases online without worrying about data security, lost faxes or illegible handwriting. This automated scheduling process makes it much easier and safer to submit surgical cases. As a result, hospitals and surgery centers using this technology cite an increase in case volume – and revenue.
The following case study examines the successes experienced by Hudson Crossing Surgery Center after deploying Casetabs’ cloud-based surgery coordination application. Key takeaways from the study include:
• Physician offices scheduling cases using Casetabs increased their case volume at the center.
• The more physician offices schedule cases using Casetabs, the greater the increase in case volume.
• Physicians not scheduling using Casetabs saw a decline in case volume at the center.
• Physician offices scheduling using Casetabs for at least 50% of their cases increased case volume by 2.16 cases per month at the center.
Introduction
Many surgery centers, hospitals and physician offices have transitioned away from paper to clinical software, yet they continue to operate in silos using disparate systems that don’t share schedule data. As a result, surgeries continue to be scheduled via phone and fax. Under these traditional methods, pre-clearance documentation is faxed to the surgery center, followed by a series of phone calls and text messages to confirm schedule details and coordinate any changes. This time-consuming and error-prone process was all too familiar to Hudson Crossing Surgery Center. Realizing the benefits associated with bringing surgery scheduling and coordination online, Hudson Crossing implemented Casetabs. In addition to creating operational efficiencies and improving patient safety, within just one month of implementation, the center saw an increase in case volume (and revenue).
Casetabs’ web-based surgery coordination application allows real-time schedule and patient demographic information to be quickly pulled from the physician’s office and populated into the system. All case-related information is available in one central hub and care team’s communication is automated. As cases are added, changed, or cancelled, real-time notifications (text, email, or push) ensure everyone involved in the case remains updated. With Casetabs, case scheduling and ongoing coordination is significantly easier and less error-prone for physician office, hospital and surgery center staff.
Inside the Numbers
The Casetabs application was implemented at Hudson Crossing in June of 2017. A utilization analysis examined case volume beginning two weeks after implementation. It compares utilization from July through November 2017 (post implementation) to the same timeframe for the previous year, July through November 2016 (pre-implementation). The analysis assessed case volume for all of the center’s 72 physicians and documented the following:
• 52 physicians scheduled through Casetabs at least once a month. Combined, these 52 physicians brought in approximately 28 more cases per month (an estimated revenue increase of approximately $47,000 each month).
• 20 physicians did not propose a case through Casetabs. These physicians had a decline of approximately 11 cases per month (an estimated net revenue loss of $17,000 each month).
• Considering all 72 physicians, on average Hudson Crossing increased its cases by 17 per month (a net revenue increase of $30,000 each month).
• Many physicians using Casetabs to schedule cases were associated with high-revenue specialties.
Conclusion
When a center is easy to do business with, physicians and their scheduling staff are more likely to send cases to that center. Casetabs provides a more efficient, streamlined approach to surgery scheduling and coordination. In doing so, Casetabs creates a new way for centers to increase case volume (and revenue).
About Hudson Crossing Surgery Center
Since 2005, Hudson Crossing Surgery Center has provided same day state-of-the-art surgery and leading-edge technology to over 60,000 patients. The center’s Board Certified surgeons have received advanced specialty training in ENT, Gynecology, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics and Spine, Pain Management, Plastic Surgery, Podiatry, General Surgery, Oral Surgery and Urology as well as Pediatric Ophthalmology and Urology. The center is fully accredited by the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Health Facilities Evaluation and Licensing.
About Casetabs
Over 100 million surgeries are coordinated in the US every year with fragmented chains of emails, text messages, phone calls, and faxes. Casetabs replaces these ineffective and error-prone methods with an intuitive central coordination hub, which delivers real-time case information and updates to facility staff, physician office staff, physicians, and vendor reps. Casetabs is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.casetabs.com.
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