When attracting new physicians to bring cases into your ASC, it's important to target the right types of physicians in the community. "If you have orthopedics, an easy add-on would be orthopedic hand specialists because you already have most of the supplies you need and staff who understand orthopedic procedures," says Aimee Mayhew, senior vice president, global marketing with Nueterra. "The related specialties are a good place to start as opposed to adding a whole new service line. Target surgeons within those related specialties to add cases at your center."
Here are five tactics to attract new physicians to your ASC.
1. Work with a physician liaison. Nueterra hires physician liaisons to market surgery centers among the professional physician community. The liaisons spend time building relationships with specialist's office or practice managers, to promote the ASC.
"The liaison's entire job is to make it easy for the surgeon to come to the facility," says Mrs. Mayhew. "The easier we can make it to schedule and access patient charts, the more cases will come into the center. However, at the end of the day the most effective way to get surgeons and physicians to consider the ASC is through physician conversations."
2. Encourage peer conversations. Unaffiliated surgeons in your community will likely feel most comfortable talking about the clinical and economic benefits of performing cases at the ASC — or financially investing in the center — with other practitioners.
"The peer-to-peer conversation will be better than anything else ASCs can do to attract new physician cases," says Mrs. Mayhew. "They know each other and can ask questions about scheduling, turnover, staff and general management. We have quite a few facilities that surgeons who aren't investors utilize, and another medical expert's opinion is highly valued.
3. Promote the benefits of the ASC. When marketing your surgery center to another physician, highlight the particular benefits current physicians enjoy at the ASC. You can create a pamphlet or flyer for surgeons specifically mentioning these qualities.
"The most common benefit for new physicians is time availability at the ASC," says Mrs. Mayhew. "In the surgery center, as opposed to the hospital, you aren't getting bumped for emergencies or trauma. It's all about convenience and consistency for physicians coming in."
Also highlight clinical quality, care and patient outcome statistics at the ASC. "You should have those ducks in a row before you go out selling," says Mrs. Mayhew. "The clinical outcomes and care should be a given. You should be selling your efficient turnover times, equipment and staff knowledgeability at the ASC."
4. Join state associations and network. ASC surgeons should join and play an active role in local and state medical societies. Whether general medical or specialty societies, these groups give physicians a forum to network on many levels and promote the ASC.
"We encourage all our surgeons to join state associations," says Mrs. Mayhew. "It's not just the state's ASC association but the medical associations as well. They should become involved with the political and legislative groups. That opens doors and gives them the opportunity to be in the know and be actively participating in the state politics related to healthcare."
5. Add a hospital partner. In markets where hospitals dominate, recruitment can be difficult. Consider partnering with the hospital and the new agreement could mean access to a pool of new physicians who are employed at the hospital.
"A lot of physicians are now becoming employed and ASCs have to look at adding a hospital partner," says Mrs. Mayhew. "When a partnership makes sense, the previously inaccessible hospital-employed physicians should be able to use the facility and increase the business."
More Articles on Surgery Centers:
7 Steps for ASCs to Ensure Accreditation Survey Readiness
10 Statistics on Orthopedics ASC Staff Salary
8 Steps to Maximize Compact Scheduling at ASCs