Sandy Berreth, administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgical Center in Baxter, Minn., provides five best practices for how to task your physicians with reducing supply costs and finding cheaper, quality alternatives to expensive items.
1. Establish your policy of finding lower costs up front. As soon as a physician expresses interest in your center, make it clear that your ASC regularly evaluates supply costs and looks for cheaper alternatives. "Tell them that [certain supplies] are expensive and you're always going to compare them and look at quality, frequency and cost," she says. If you establish this expectation right away, you will likely have less trouble convincing physicians to switch to cheaper alternatives.
2. Ask physicians to compromise on more expensive products. While it might be relatively easy to get physicians to switch brands for "minor things like drapes and gowns and needles and syringes," Ms. Berreth says tackling expensive supplies is generally more difficult. "When you have four different doctors, they all have their different likes and dislikes [regarding] companies and products," she says. "It can be a huge challenge to keep expensive supplies like implants under control."
She says you should tackle this issue by asking physicians to compromise. For example, if a physician loves a certain shoulder anchor and refuses to accept a different brand, you can ask him to give up his preferred brand of screws. "There may be a hill a doctor wants to die on, but it's all about compromise and it's all about negotiation," she says.
3. Talk to physicians about supply purchases as a group. Ms. Berreth says if you sit down with one physician to talk about a problem with an expensive supply, you will probably have worse luck than if you discuss the issue with the whole group. "If you go to one doctor, they can attack you very easily," she says. "Instead, you maybe want to go to your ortho group and show them the frequency, quality and cost of each supply." Physicians are less likely to be particularly difficult in front of their peers, and gathering the group together can spur creative ideas and promote compromise.
4. Discuss new items before physicians bring them to the center. Ms. Berreth says she keeps a check on physician supply contributions by enforcing discussion before items are brought to the center. "Before [the physician] is ever allowed to bring something new in, the discussion is, 'Are you going to keep this particular item? Is there a reason you're bringing this item? What item would you give up to have this item?'" she says.
This way, physicians will only bring items they are serious about, and you will have a clear understanding of how supplies will contribute to your center before you agree to use them.
5. Post side-by-side comparisons of frequency, quality and cost. At your surgeons' regular meeting, Ms. Berreth recommends posting data on frequency and cost for supplies. Supply frequency details how often a certain item is used, while supply cost details how much the supply and its potential alternatives cost. The physicians can manage the "quality" portion through discussing the clinical value of a certain brand. Posting this kind of information at your regular meetings gives a clear picture of which supplies are most valuable and most used at your center, as well as which supplies are purchased and then left to sit on the shelf.
1. Establish your policy of finding lower costs up front. As soon as a physician expresses interest in your center, make it clear that your ASC regularly evaluates supply costs and looks for cheaper alternatives. "Tell them that [certain supplies] are expensive and you're always going to compare them and look at quality, frequency and cost," she says. If you establish this expectation right away, you will likely have less trouble convincing physicians to switch to cheaper alternatives.
2. Ask physicians to compromise on more expensive products. While it might be relatively easy to get physicians to switch brands for "minor things like drapes and gowns and needles and syringes," Ms. Berreth says tackling expensive supplies is generally more difficult. "When you have four different doctors, they all have their different likes and dislikes [regarding] companies and products," she says. "It can be a huge challenge to keep expensive supplies like implants under control."
She says you should tackle this issue by asking physicians to compromise. For example, if a physician loves a certain shoulder anchor and refuses to accept a different brand, you can ask him to give up his preferred brand of screws. "There may be a hill a doctor wants to die on, but it's all about compromise and it's all about negotiation," she says.
3. Talk to physicians about supply purchases as a group. Ms. Berreth says if you sit down with one physician to talk about a problem with an expensive supply, you will probably have worse luck than if you discuss the issue with the whole group. "If you go to one doctor, they can attack you very easily," she says. "Instead, you maybe want to go to your ortho group and show them the frequency, quality and cost of each supply." Physicians are less likely to be particularly difficult in front of their peers, and gathering the group together can spur creative ideas and promote compromise.
4. Discuss new items before physicians bring them to the center. Ms. Berreth says she keeps a check on physician supply contributions by enforcing discussion before items are brought to the center. "Before [the physician] is ever allowed to bring something new in, the discussion is, 'Are you going to keep this particular item? Is there a reason you're bringing this item? What item would you give up to have this item?'" she says.
This way, physicians will only bring items they are serious about, and you will have a clear understanding of how supplies will contribute to your center before you agree to use them.
5. Post side-by-side comparisons of frequency, quality and cost. At your surgeons' regular meeting, Ms. Berreth recommends posting data on frequency and cost for supplies. Supply frequency details how often a certain item is used, while supply cost details how much the supply and its potential alternatives cost. The physicians can manage the "quality" portion through discussing the clinical value of a certain brand. Posting this kind of information at your regular meetings gives a clear picture of which supplies are most valuable and most used at your center, as well as which supplies are purchased and then left to sit on the shelf.