Here are five best practices ambulatory surgery centers can adopt to recruit and build a strong base of GI physicians.
1. Market your ASC's most appealing qualities. Successfully recruiting GI specialists is critical to expanding the GI specialty, as the addition of quality GI physicians means the addition of new patients. Dianne Wallace, executive director of Menomonee Falls (Wis.) Ambulatory Surgery Center, says this can be done by actively marketing a facility's state-of-the-art equipment and demonstrating a competent staff who can assist physicians. "ASCs will have to sell themselves based on the quality of their equipment and whether they have a skilled staff who understands GI," says Ms. Wallace. "Physicians are going to look to see who provides the best quality care and has the best staff and equipment, like scopes and video equipment for GI procedures. ASCs have to prove to physicians it is worth their while to join their facility."
From: 3 Best Practices for Expanding GI/Endoscopy in Your ASC
2. Demonstrate a strong supporting staff. One way to bring on GI physicians is to demonstrate a strong group of staff members with a high level of expertise and professionalism. Philip Grossman, MD, CEO, medical director and chairman of the board at Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center in Miami, installed two new administrative positions to encourage physicians and the staff to open all channels of communication. In creating a director of clinical services and a director of business services, physicians and staff alike have administrative liaisons to whom they can relay problems to and work with to settle on a resolution.
From: 5 Practical Tips on Building a Cohesive Team at Your GI/Endoscopy-Driven ASC
3. Engage the physicians in the staff hiring process. Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center, says obtaining input from all the physicians about candidates for staff positions is key to ensuring the collective team remains one unit. "The physicians here have 100 percent input as to who gets hired and who doesn't," Ms. Toler says. "I interview the candidates along with my charge nurse and introduce them to everyone else in the facility. At the end of a 90-day probationary period, we get feedback from every single physician and other staff about how the new applicant [performed] in the surgery center."
From: 5 Practical Tips on Building a Cohesive Team at Your GI/Endoscopy-Driven ASC
4. Conduct regular review of physician satisfaction. Although ASCs should maintain a high level of patient satisfaction, continuously measuring and ensuring a high level of physician satisfaction is also crucial to the long-term retention of GI physicians. By measuring specific parameters, an ASC can pinpoint what specific processes or protocols are in need of process improvement. Brian Brown, regional vice president of operations at Meridian Surgical Partners, provides some key questions to consider for a physician satisfaction survey:
- How effective is the business office?
- How easy is it to schedule a case?
- How available is the OR?
- Do procedures start on time?
- How quick are OR turnover times?
From: Key Questions for Satisfaction Surveys of ASC Employees, Physicians
5. Recruit constantly. According to Scott Becker, JD, CPA, healthcare attorney with McGuireWoods, existing ASCs should aim for 10 percent growth in case volume every year, whether that means taking on new physician partners, replacing retiring owners, adding new specialties or other tactics. Your ASC should constantly be looking for opportunities to recruit new physicians, which means talking to your existing physicians about opportunities in the local community.
From: 5 Things to Know About Physician Relationships in the ASC
1. Market your ASC's most appealing qualities. Successfully recruiting GI specialists is critical to expanding the GI specialty, as the addition of quality GI physicians means the addition of new patients. Dianne Wallace, executive director of Menomonee Falls (Wis.) Ambulatory Surgery Center, says this can be done by actively marketing a facility's state-of-the-art equipment and demonstrating a competent staff who can assist physicians. "ASCs will have to sell themselves based on the quality of their equipment and whether they have a skilled staff who understands GI," says Ms. Wallace. "Physicians are going to look to see who provides the best quality care and has the best staff and equipment, like scopes and video equipment for GI procedures. ASCs have to prove to physicians it is worth their while to join their facility."
From: 3 Best Practices for Expanding GI/Endoscopy in Your ASC
2. Demonstrate a strong supporting staff. One way to bring on GI physicians is to demonstrate a strong group of staff members with a high level of expertise and professionalism. Philip Grossman, MD, CEO, medical director and chairman of the board at Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center in Miami, installed two new administrative positions to encourage physicians and the staff to open all channels of communication. In creating a director of clinical services and a director of business services, physicians and staff alike have administrative liaisons to whom they can relay problems to and work with to settle on a resolution.
From: 5 Practical Tips on Building a Cohesive Team at Your GI/Endoscopy-Driven ASC
3. Engage the physicians in the staff hiring process. Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center, says obtaining input from all the physicians about candidates for staff positions is key to ensuring the collective team remains one unit. "The physicians here have 100 percent input as to who gets hired and who doesn't," Ms. Toler says. "I interview the candidates along with my charge nurse and introduce them to everyone else in the facility. At the end of a 90-day probationary period, we get feedback from every single physician and other staff about how the new applicant [performed] in the surgery center."
From: 5 Practical Tips on Building a Cohesive Team at Your GI/Endoscopy-Driven ASC
4. Conduct regular review of physician satisfaction. Although ASCs should maintain a high level of patient satisfaction, continuously measuring and ensuring a high level of physician satisfaction is also crucial to the long-term retention of GI physicians. By measuring specific parameters, an ASC can pinpoint what specific processes or protocols are in need of process improvement. Brian Brown, regional vice president of operations at Meridian Surgical Partners, provides some key questions to consider for a physician satisfaction survey:
- How effective is the business office?
- How easy is it to schedule a case?
- How available is the OR?
- Do procedures start on time?
- How quick are OR turnover times?
From: Key Questions for Satisfaction Surveys of ASC Employees, Physicians
5. Recruit constantly. According to Scott Becker, JD, CPA, healthcare attorney with McGuireWoods, existing ASCs should aim for 10 percent growth in case volume every year, whether that means taking on new physician partners, replacing retiring owners, adding new specialties or other tactics. Your ASC should constantly be looking for opportunities to recruit new physicians, which means talking to your existing physicians about opportunities in the local community.
From: 5 Things to Know About Physician Relationships in the ASC