In the midst of a struggling economy, William J. Lahners, MD, FACS, medical director of the Center for Sight in Sarasota, Fla., is able to offer free cataract surgery to underprivileged patients. "We're not immune to financial stresses," Dr. Lahners says, but they have the know-how to keep the Center for Sight profitable in a competitive market. Here he shares three tips on increasing profitability and marketing your practice.
1. Focus on one small area of expertise. If your center focuses its energy on one specific area of medicine, you will save money and provide better quality care for your patients, Dr. Lahners says. The Center for Sight only performs eye surgery and plastic surgery of the face, so the center doesn't have to spend money on the range of equipment and training that a hospital would have to provide. "By being focused on what we do, we can trim some of the fat and be really efficient when it comes to staff training, credentialing and buying equipment," he says. "We're able to offer healthcare at a discounted rate from what hospitals might do."
If your center saves money by specializing in a few areas, you might also be able to afford to offer more expensive services or purchase better-quality equipment. Unique equipment and services give you a competitive edge, meaning patients will travel to your center to undergo rarely performed procedures. "We do a type of corneal transplant called an IEK, where we use a laser to do the transplant," Dr. Lahners says. "There's no hospital on the west side of Florida that can offer that. It's a procedure that can [so far] only be performed in an ambulatory surgery center. Many techniques and procedures, we can do because we're so specialized."
2. Be honest and up front about why patients should choose your organization. If your facility provides quality care, patients already have a reason to come to you. All you have to do is be straightforward about what your center does best. "When we advertise, we're trying to be as specific as we can and as honest as we can about things we do here that differentiate us from other practices," Dr. Lahners says. "We were the first practice on the west side of Florida to do all-laser LASIK surgery. We haven't used a blade for LASIK surgery since 2004, which gives us not just years more experience, but thousands of eyes more experience."
Dr. Lahners recommends taking advantage of your contacts in the medical community. When you attend a conference or talk to other physicians, let people know what sets you apart from other facilities, so that when they come across a patient in need of your service, they think of you. "We try to educate people so that when patients come in for a recommendation, they'll know who has the specialized equipment and knows how to use it," he says.
3. Have high standards for certification and performance. Dr. Lahners says that when a patient is deciding on a suitable physician or care provider, they can choose between facilities based on credentialing. Don't allow your facility to achieve only the bare minimum: achieve certifications that tell potential patients you have high-quality physicians who provide state-of-the-art care. "We're AAAHC-accredited and Medicare- and state-licensed, and we go out of our way to achieve this kind of certification," Dr. Lahner says. "You can do LASIK surgery in the parking lot legally, but that's not the way we've chosen to do it. A shrewd patient will go the extra yard to make sure everything is done the right way and the best way."
Nothing is more valuable than a good professional reputation, he says. If a patient goes to a family physician they know and trust, they will accept that physician's recommendations for surgeons and specialists.
Read more advice from surgery center leaders.
-10 Best Practices for Recruiting New Partners to Your ASC
-3 Challenges for Adding Spine and Retina to ASCs
1. Focus on one small area of expertise. If your center focuses its energy on one specific area of medicine, you will save money and provide better quality care for your patients, Dr. Lahners says. The Center for Sight only performs eye surgery and plastic surgery of the face, so the center doesn't have to spend money on the range of equipment and training that a hospital would have to provide. "By being focused on what we do, we can trim some of the fat and be really efficient when it comes to staff training, credentialing and buying equipment," he says. "We're able to offer healthcare at a discounted rate from what hospitals might do."
If your center saves money by specializing in a few areas, you might also be able to afford to offer more expensive services or purchase better-quality equipment. Unique equipment and services give you a competitive edge, meaning patients will travel to your center to undergo rarely performed procedures. "We do a type of corneal transplant called an IEK, where we use a laser to do the transplant," Dr. Lahners says. "There's no hospital on the west side of Florida that can offer that. It's a procedure that can [so far] only be performed in an ambulatory surgery center. Many techniques and procedures, we can do because we're so specialized."
2. Be honest and up front about why patients should choose your organization. If your facility provides quality care, patients already have a reason to come to you. All you have to do is be straightforward about what your center does best. "When we advertise, we're trying to be as specific as we can and as honest as we can about things we do here that differentiate us from other practices," Dr. Lahners says. "We were the first practice on the west side of Florida to do all-laser LASIK surgery. We haven't used a blade for LASIK surgery since 2004, which gives us not just years more experience, but thousands of eyes more experience."
Dr. Lahners recommends taking advantage of your contacts in the medical community. When you attend a conference or talk to other physicians, let people know what sets you apart from other facilities, so that when they come across a patient in need of your service, they think of you. "We try to educate people so that when patients come in for a recommendation, they'll know who has the specialized equipment and knows how to use it," he says.
3. Have high standards for certification and performance. Dr. Lahners says that when a patient is deciding on a suitable physician or care provider, they can choose between facilities based on credentialing. Don't allow your facility to achieve only the bare minimum: achieve certifications that tell potential patients you have high-quality physicians who provide state-of-the-art care. "We're AAAHC-accredited and Medicare- and state-licensed, and we go out of our way to achieve this kind of certification," Dr. Lahner says. "You can do LASIK surgery in the parking lot legally, but that's not the way we've chosen to do it. A shrewd patient will go the extra yard to make sure everything is done the right way and the best way."
Nothing is more valuable than a good professional reputation, he says. If a patient goes to a family physician they know and trust, they will accept that physician's recommendations for surgeons and specialists.
Read more advice from surgery center leaders.
-10 Best Practices for Recruiting New Partners to Your ASC
-3 Challenges for Adding Spine and Retina to ASCs