ASCs are resuming elective surgery in many places where centers temporarily closed, or ramped down volume to cover just urgent cases.
Due to the pandemic, many centers have new protocols and procedures for anyone entering the center, including sales reps. For example, Physicians Alliance Surgery Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo., has a new screening process that includes taking temperatures for all reps that enter the building and making sure they enter and exit through the front door so they can check in at the registration desk.
Administrator Matthew Ewasko said in a recent Becker's article that process will stay in place post-pandemic.
"One of the items we are going to keep is our check-in process for sales reps at the facility," he said. "This will allow us to track who is in our building with greater efficiency, and allow us to limit the amount of personnel in our surgical suites."
ASCs are making other changes as well. In some cases, administrators have severely limited access to the operating room or the center for device company representatives, sometimes having them video conference into the OR instead. In other cases, surgeons are relying more heavily on their reps because centers have cut staff and the surgeons still need support.