Thousands of sticky brown blobs from the BP oil spill are lapping the shoreline just a few miles from the Bayou Regional Surgical Center, impeding the livelihood of fishing, oil and gas workers who are the center's largest patient base.
But even as the BP spill widens and many physicians practices see a drop in patient volume, this three-OR center in Thibodaux, La., is still thriving, says Barry G. Landry, MD, a general surgeon who serves as its president. Dr. Landry says Bayou Regional is in very strong financial shape, has seen an increase in volume and is resilient enough to withstand more economic pain on the horizon.
Here are four key steps Bayou Regional, managed by ASD Management, has taken to reach steady profits and high volume.
1. Keep adding more physician-owners. While volume at area physicians' practices is down 10-15 percent, Bayou Regional's volume is up, mainly because two orthopedic surgeons were added as investors. These surgeons had been using the ASC before but they doubled their ASC cases after becoming members. Now the ASC has almost 20 doctors as investors. Doctors and staff work well together
2. Give surgeons feedback on their costs. For about a year, surgeons using the facility get feedback in quarterly reports on the costs of their surgeries and how they compare to each other. "No one wants to be the odd man out," Dr. Landry says. Most of these surgeons are investors, so they take the reports seriously. "Surgeons have been changing what they are doing," he says.
3. Avoid money-losing cases. ASC personnel monitor planned cases to determine if they would lose money for the ASC. If so, the surgeon is asked to perform the case somewhere else where the reimbursement is higher.
4. Don't settle for measly payments. When the ASC opened, it held back from signing payor contracts where payments were too low. Holding out was tough, because patients resented having to pay extra for out-of-network status, but many of the payors gradually came around. A few payors are still holding out but negotiations with them continue.
The future
Dr. Landry concedes the future looks less bright. He says the local economy is starting to be affected by less opportunity to fish and the Obama administration's moratorium on deep-sea drilling. Also, Bayou Regional will have less ability to raise volume in the future, because key surgeons who drive most of the volume are all on board now.
The ASC could sign payor contracts it has held off on and get a bump in volume but at the cost of lower rates, Dr. Landry says. Also, it might prompt previously contracted insurers to demand lower rates, too.
Dr. Landry says the next few years will probably be a time of to "look inward" and streamline operations further. He has a few ideas, such as looking at scheduling to determine how much volume is lost during high-volume hours, when it is difficult for surgeons to get into the OR. If enough volume is being lost, it might be economical for the ASC to open a fourth, unused OR and high additional staff to run it, he says.
Contact Dr. Landry at barlandry@gmail.com.
Thank you to ASD Management for arranging this interview.
Read more best practices to improve ASC profitability:
- 5 Initiatives Lead to Strong Growth in a Weak Economy: Louisville Surgery Center
- Growing Your ASC: Q&A With Robert Zasa of ASD Management
- 5 Ways a Plastic Surgery ASC Thrived in the Recession
But even as the BP spill widens and many physicians practices see a drop in patient volume, this three-OR center in Thibodaux, La., is still thriving, says Barry G. Landry, MD, a general surgeon who serves as its president. Dr. Landry says Bayou Regional is in very strong financial shape, has seen an increase in volume and is resilient enough to withstand more economic pain on the horizon.
Here are four key steps Bayou Regional, managed by ASD Management, has taken to reach steady profits and high volume.
1. Keep adding more physician-owners. While volume at area physicians' practices is down 10-15 percent, Bayou Regional's volume is up, mainly because two orthopedic surgeons were added as investors. These surgeons had been using the ASC before but they doubled their ASC cases after becoming members. Now the ASC has almost 20 doctors as investors. Doctors and staff work well together
2. Give surgeons feedback on their costs. For about a year, surgeons using the facility get feedback in quarterly reports on the costs of their surgeries and how they compare to each other. "No one wants to be the odd man out," Dr. Landry says. Most of these surgeons are investors, so they take the reports seriously. "Surgeons have been changing what they are doing," he says.
3. Avoid money-losing cases. ASC personnel monitor planned cases to determine if they would lose money for the ASC. If so, the surgeon is asked to perform the case somewhere else where the reimbursement is higher.
4. Don't settle for measly payments. When the ASC opened, it held back from signing payor contracts where payments were too low. Holding out was tough, because patients resented having to pay extra for out-of-network status, but many of the payors gradually came around. A few payors are still holding out but negotiations with them continue.
The future
Dr. Landry concedes the future looks less bright. He says the local economy is starting to be affected by less opportunity to fish and the Obama administration's moratorium on deep-sea drilling. Also, Bayou Regional will have less ability to raise volume in the future, because key surgeons who drive most of the volume are all on board now.
The ASC could sign payor contracts it has held off on and get a bump in volume but at the cost of lower rates, Dr. Landry says. Also, it might prompt previously contracted insurers to demand lower rates, too.
Dr. Landry says the next few years will probably be a time of to "look inward" and streamline operations further. He has a few ideas, such as looking at scheduling to determine how much volume is lost during high-volume hours, when it is difficult for surgeons to get into the OR. If enough volume is being lost, it might be economical for the ASC to open a fourth, unused OR and high additional staff to run it, he says.
Contact Dr. Landry at barlandry@gmail.com.
Thank you to ASD Management for arranging this interview.
Read more best practices to improve ASC profitability:
- 5 Initiatives Lead to Strong Growth in a Weak Economy: Louisville Surgery Center
- Growing Your ASC: Q&A With Robert Zasa of ASD Management
- 5 Ways a Plastic Surgery ASC Thrived in the Recession