Fifty-five ASC leaders recently joined Becker's to share what they would add to their own "successful ASC management" cheat sheet.
Here are three key tips they mentioned:
1. Technology
Armando Colon. CEO of DNA Medsolutions: Technology should help you work smarter, not harder. Taking advantage of software to improve both your work flow and cash flow is crucial. In today’s post-pandemic digital world, you are at a disadvantage if you don't fully embrace your software.
2. Anesthesia staffing
George Dickstein, MD. Gastroenterologist at Boston Endoscopy Center and Chair of the Department of Medicine at MetroWest Medical Center (Natick, Mass.): Secure sufficient anesthesia staffing. The anesthesia staffing shortages are not easily solved, particularly as reimbursement shrinks in many markets. Many ASCs are swallowing the bitter pill that they now have to supplement anesthesia pay with stipends or guaranteed day rates to keep sufficient staff. Discord between scope of practice among CRNAs and MDs does not help the matter. However, there are major staff shortages even in states where the working relationship between MDs and CRNAs is very good.
3. Value-based care arrangements
Michael Richards, MD, PhD. Graduate Program Director of Health Services Research at Baylor University (Waco, Texas): ASCs will increasingly be seen as a key care delivery setting as more covered lives are included in value-based payment arrangements. Succeeding in these arrangements will crucially depend on sufficiently granular and timely data, but not just data for the sake of data. Innovative and relevant ways need to be crafted to best understand and act upon the data. An important ingredient for doing so is getting the clinical providers engaged in the process throughout (e.g., what data to collect, how to make it clear and transparent, and ultimately how to use it to make positive care delivery changes). Such an approach leverages “on-the-ground” clinical insights and encourages greater acceptance from the providers with respect to the process as well as the collective care delivery improvement goals tied to the endeavor. All of which can save precious time and make success more likely.