At a session at the 10th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference, Brian Brown, regional vice president, operations, Meridian Surgical Partners, shared 10 key statistics for ASCs to review each day, as well as weekly and monthly.
1. Case volume. Case volume should be reviewed each day, and volume-to-date should be compared to actual volume, said Mr. Brown. The schedule should be examined daily, per operating room, for utilization and compressed if needed. Each week and month administrators should also compare budget volume to actual volume and identify any reasons behind not meeting the budgeted goal, such as a loss of a physician.
2. Cash collections. Each day, verify bills were cleanly received by the payor and not rejected. Also monitor accounts rolling over to 90 days. On a monthly basis, set collections goals and incentivize employees to achieve the goal.
3. Net revenue per case. Each day, the schedule should also be analyzed to ensure each case will be profitable, which involves verifying insurance and comparing this to costs per case. "You can have all the cases in the world, but it doesn't matter if they aren't making money," he said. Average net revenue per case statistics should also be examined weekly and monthly to identify any changes.
4. Salaries per case. Daily, staffing should be adjusted based on schedules. Weekly, salaries per case should be analyzed and examined as productive and non-productive hours (e.g, paid time off). Reducing any holes in scheduling will help bring down labor costs per case, said Mr. Brown.
5. Hours per case. Hours per case should also be examined regularly, with a consideration for case mix. Mr. Brown recommends incentivizing employees to meet budgeted hours per case by providing a bonus opportunity for doing so.
6. Supplies per case. Check pricing of supplies daily and educate OR staff on not opening items that won't be used. Mr. Brown suggested putting the prices of supplies on their packaging so staff is aware how much each items costs the center. Also monitor costs weekly and month to check for any changes in utilization.
7. Days in AR. While the industry average is around 35 days in accounts receivable, Mr. Brown suggested making a goal that is unique to the center. For example, out-of-network centers may have longer days in AR. Performance against this goal should be tracked weekly and monthly.
8. Bad debt. Bad debt should also be examined each week and month. Mr. Brown recommended ASCs use up-front collections to reduce bad debt levels.
9. Satisfaction. Administrators should examine patient satisfaction survey results monthly. Mr. Brown added that a yearly physician and staff satisfaction survey is also a best practice.
10. Distributions/Bottom line. Finally, ASC administrators should compare the center's budgeted EBIDTA to its actual EBITDA and its EBITDA the year-prior. Regular examination of this statistic helps ensure the center continues to grow. "Growing or dying; you're doing one or the other," said Mr. Brown
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1. Case volume. Case volume should be reviewed each day, and volume-to-date should be compared to actual volume, said Mr. Brown. The schedule should be examined daily, per operating room, for utilization and compressed if needed. Each week and month administrators should also compare budget volume to actual volume and identify any reasons behind not meeting the budgeted goal, such as a loss of a physician.
2. Cash collections. Each day, verify bills were cleanly received by the payor and not rejected. Also monitor accounts rolling over to 90 days. On a monthly basis, set collections goals and incentivize employees to achieve the goal.
3. Net revenue per case. Each day, the schedule should also be analyzed to ensure each case will be profitable, which involves verifying insurance and comparing this to costs per case. "You can have all the cases in the world, but it doesn't matter if they aren't making money," he said. Average net revenue per case statistics should also be examined weekly and monthly to identify any changes.
4. Salaries per case. Daily, staffing should be adjusted based on schedules. Weekly, salaries per case should be analyzed and examined as productive and non-productive hours (e.g, paid time off). Reducing any holes in scheduling will help bring down labor costs per case, said Mr. Brown.
5. Hours per case. Hours per case should also be examined regularly, with a consideration for case mix. Mr. Brown recommends incentivizing employees to meet budgeted hours per case by providing a bonus opportunity for doing so.
6. Supplies per case. Check pricing of supplies daily and educate OR staff on not opening items that won't be used. Mr. Brown suggested putting the prices of supplies on their packaging so staff is aware how much each items costs the center. Also monitor costs weekly and month to check for any changes in utilization.
7. Days in AR. While the industry average is around 35 days in accounts receivable, Mr. Brown suggested making a goal that is unique to the center. For example, out-of-network centers may have longer days in AR. Performance against this goal should be tracked weekly and monthly.
8. Bad debt. Bad debt should also be examined each week and month. Mr. Brown recommended ASCs use up-front collections to reduce bad debt levels.
9. Satisfaction. Administrators should examine patient satisfaction survey results monthly. Mr. Brown added that a yearly physician and staff satisfaction survey is also a best practice.
10. Distributions/Bottom line. Finally, ASC administrators should compare the center's budgeted EBIDTA to its actual EBITDA and its EBITDA the year-prior. Regular examination of this statistic helps ensure the center continues to grow. "Growing or dying; you're doing one or the other," said Mr. Brown
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