With a struggling economy and decreased reimbursement from Medicare, surgery centers are being forced to become more business savvy. Ken Schaff, director of Alliance Endoscopy Center in Metairie, La., shares two tips for ASCs looking to stay profitable going forward into 2011.
1. Merge with corporate partners. Mr. Schaff says that trend of surgery centers making partnerships with larger entities, such as hospitals or healthcare companies, is likely to continue into 2011. The possibility of merging with larger entities can pave the way for many cost benefits, including better payor or supplier contracts and streamlined operational processes.
"Particularly with us, partnering with Covenant Surgical Partners has allowed us to pool staff and human resource functions, work with different supply chains and even cut costs with insurance or benefit plans as an overall company," he says. "It also helps because an ASC can also work with a corporate partner to streamline operation items and reduce costs in the supply chain, such as costs for disposable supplies at an ASC."
2. Put the employees to task. Although corporate partnerships can go a long way in helping an ASC stay profitable, brainstorming and resolving issues related to costs and profits at the employee level not only unifies the entire facility but also makes room for creative thinking.
"It's putting that back to the employees and charging them with coming up with ideas at the local level of how to tackle cost on a larger scale," Mr. Schaff says. "At a surgery center, when you involve employees, they can come up with creative ideas on the supply side and how to streamline items, reduce inventory, reduce excessive cost, find suitable substitutes and how to be more 'green.' It may be as simple as a patient belonging bag, which is what patients use to hold their regular clothes after they change into gowns. Often, centers will use bags and throw them away after each use, when instead they could be using reusable containers or a locker system."
Learn more about Alliance Endoscopy Center.
1. Merge with corporate partners. Mr. Schaff says that trend of surgery centers making partnerships with larger entities, such as hospitals or healthcare companies, is likely to continue into 2011. The possibility of merging with larger entities can pave the way for many cost benefits, including better payor or supplier contracts and streamlined operational processes.
"Particularly with us, partnering with Covenant Surgical Partners has allowed us to pool staff and human resource functions, work with different supply chains and even cut costs with insurance or benefit plans as an overall company," he says. "It also helps because an ASC can also work with a corporate partner to streamline operation items and reduce costs in the supply chain, such as costs for disposable supplies at an ASC."
2. Put the employees to task. Although corporate partnerships can go a long way in helping an ASC stay profitable, brainstorming and resolving issues related to costs and profits at the employee level not only unifies the entire facility but also makes room for creative thinking.
"It's putting that back to the employees and charging them with coming up with ideas at the local level of how to tackle cost on a larger scale," Mr. Schaff says. "At a surgery center, when you involve employees, they can come up with creative ideas on the supply side and how to streamline items, reduce inventory, reduce excessive cost, find suitable substitutes and how to be more 'green.' It may be as simple as a patient belonging bag, which is what patients use to hold their regular clothes after they change into gowns. Often, centers will use bags and throw them away after each use, when instead they could be using reusable containers or a locker system."
Learn more about Alliance Endoscopy Center.