Michael Powers, administrator of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Children's West Surgery Center, joined Becker's to discuss smart leadership
Question: What are smart ASC leaders doing right now?
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Michael Powers: Strategically thinking about where are the current and future opportunities. … Is it renegotiating payer contracts for fee increases based upon solid data to their surgical mix/profitability? Is it in reviewing physician succession planning or recruitment of specific specialties that fit best into their center again with greatest profitability. Is it ensuring competitive salary and benefits to maintain and recruit staff. Or constant review of supply costs and looking for opportunities for savings. Lastly, the goal should be filling the operating room schedule with as many of the most profitable cases as possible every day. This must be considered in advance and not a few days before. The smartest leaders know their business, understand their opportunities and strategically plan tactics to accomplish the necessary goals. All too common for ASC leaders get pulled into the day-to-day operations and do not have the time to focus strategically.