At the 11th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain-Management Driven ASC Conference in Chicago on June 13, Rajiv Chopra, principal, The C/N Group; Gregory P. DeConciliis, PA-C, administrator of Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites; and Brian Brown, regional vice president of operations at Meridian Surgical Partners discussed key steps to improve profits at orthopedic-driven ambulatory surgery centers in a panel session moderated by Molly Gamble, a Becker’s Healthcare editor.
Staff selection
Mr. DeConciliis began by discussing the importance of talent selection for ASC staff and surgeon recruitment. “You want those ‘talented surgeons’ to fill your rooms,” he said. “You want to retain them,” which requires having talented staff and always fulfilling the surgeon’s preferences, whether it is for equipment or music in the OR. To recruit and retain talented staff, he recommended paying well, offering profit sharing and providing opportunities for the staff to bond outside of the center, such as through hosting a happy hour. “It’s the little things,” he said.
Mr. Chopra stressed that while clinical skills are obviously important for staff selection, attributes such a customer-service mindset and willingness to learn are equally critical, and play a role in profitability.
Case costs
Orthopedic centers must also closely monitor case costs and should look for opportunities to share findings with physicians. If one surgeon performs a certain procedure for a lower cost than others but has equivalent outcomes, that surgeon should share his or her practices with the others.
“You don’t want to offend your physicians; you want to assist them in becoming the best they can possibly be,” said Mr. Brown. He shared that the centers he works with often put price tags on OR supplies. He explained this is generally not to influence supply selection but more to encourage surgeons who would have traditionally “opened up everything” to hold off until the supply is actually needed.
Contracting
Contracting with commercial payers is also a critical component to an orthopedic ASC’s profitability. Mr. Chopra explains that ASC leaders need to start by stating their value case. Explain how the ASC can save the hospital money while offering high quality care. “It’s an education process with the payers,” he said.
Mr. DeConciliis said his center invites payer representatives to come to the center for a face-to-face meeting; in the past, he “would pull out implants and screws and tell them this is $35 dollars or $300 dollars,” to provide justification for rate requests.