Tags: physician investment | surgery center | Timothy Kremchek

Timothy Kremchek, MD, medical director of Beacon Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Sharonville, Ohio, and a physician-owner of the clinic's surgery center, discusses three key considerations for surgeons before investing in an ASC.
Know your limitations
If physicians are considering investing in a new ASC, Dr. Kremchek says that it is important for physician-owners to understand just how much work goes into operating a surgery center. "The biggest learning curve is understanding your limitations and getting a sense of everything that goes on behind the scenes at an OR," says Dr. Kremchek. "In a hospital, everything is all laid out for you. It's important to understand at the beginning the investment needed to cover everything that needs to be done at the ASC. You need people to do everything from schedule operations to clean instruments and sometimes some of that can be overlooked initially."

Visit other ASCs
Dr. Kremchek also suggests that potential physician-investors visit existing ASCs and meet with their physician-owners. "I think it's important to visit other surgeons that own a center and pick their brains about their involvement before making a big investment like this," he says. "Because you can't follow the rules of the hospital system, talk to other surgeon-investors about what they've learned, what they would do differently and what types of people you should hire for your center."

Hire an experienced administrator
Finally, Dr. Kremchek says that one of the most important keys to a successful ASC is having the right person to run it. An administrator with business experience is critical, and Dr. Kremchek recommends considering bringing in an ASC management company as a corporate partner. "We struggled with our ASC until we engaged Practice Partners as a partner. They showed us key practices and how to do things right to keep our patients happy and attract the right staff."