Best Practices for Cutting Costs, Improving Efficiency, Recruiting Physicians and Boosting Profits at a Surgery Center

Ms. Wallace is the executive director and CEO of the Menomonee Falls (Wis.) Ambulatory Surgery Center, a multispecialty center just northwest of Milwaukee. She shares some suggestions for reducing costs and improving efficiency, recruiting physicians and increasing profits.

Reduce costs and improve efficiency

1. Staffing:

• Cross-train staff
• Use per diem staff
• Job share, particularly in the business and billing office
• Hire people with ASC experience, which reduces training costs because these staff understand the ASC culture
• Manage overtime and use of agency staff

2. Supply and equipment:

• Work with physicians to limit variation in supplies and equipment
• Join one or more group purchasing organizations
• Consider buying used equipment, as opposed to new equipment
• Consider leasing, as opposed to buying, equipment when appropriate
• Negotiate supply costs as part of the final agreement when purchasing equipment

3. Operating room schedule:

• Eliminate gaps in the schedule
• Use block scheduling often and effectively
• Monitor block and room utilization
• Adjust room use based on average cases per day
• Keep delays to a minimum to prevent staff downtime

Recruit physicians

• Market your facility to physicians. Promote your value, including skill of staff, location, efficiency, lower patient-out-of-pocket costs, and physician involvement in decision-making (particularly regarding supply and equipment purchases).
• Recruit complementary physicians. These can include podiatry, orthopedic surgeons, and pain specialists.
• Share patient and physician satisfaction statistics.

Boost profits

• Know your cost per case
• Add profitable specialties
• Add 'like' specialties to maximize the use of equipment and best use of skilled staff
• Use certified coders who are familiar with ASC reimbursement
• Manage payor and supplier contracts, renegotiating reimbursement to keep pace with changes in the economic environment
• Eliminate waste and redundancy in key processes

Learn more about Menomonee Falls Ambulatory Surgery Center.

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