Four ASC industry experts discuss strategic goals for ASCs this year.
1. Spread out ownership among physicians. Mike Lipomi, president and CEO of Surgical Management Professionals, says physician-owned surgery centers should try to spread out ownership of the center among more physicians. Recruit potential physician investors and then ask existing physicians to sell part of their ownership share to new physicians.
"It provides cash, reduces risk and brings more committed physicians who could utilize and grow the case volume of the facility," Mr. Lipomi says.
2. Consider hospital partnership. According to Marshall Maran, senior vice president of operations and physician services at Health Inventures in Broomfield, Colo., surgery centers considering new strategic direction might consider partnering with a hospital. He says hospitals are increasingly seeking joint ventures with physicians for surgery centers, and alignment with a hospital can help a surgery center achieve better managed care contracts and better deals on supplies.
He says surgery centers that partner with hospitals often bring in management companies to handle operations. The management companies also purchase a small equity share in the hospital-aligned ASC and can serve as a buffer between the hospital and physician partners. "Within the network of ASCs that we manage, more than 90 percent of them are JV deals that we've put together between physicians and hospitals," Mr. Maran says. "So obviously, we believe in this strategy and have been intimately involved in developing a lot of success stories."
3. Renegotiate or terminate managed care contracts. Rob Murphy, founder and CEO of Murphy Healthcare Group and founder of ASC Turnaround Group, says many surgery centers fail financially because they rely on poor managed care contracts. A center that consistently loses money on cases can approach bankruptcy rapidly. In the process of turning around a failing ASC, Mr. Murphy says his team reviews managed care contracts and often decides to re-negotiate the contracts or terminate them completely.
4. Use technology to your advantage. Surgery centers have traditionally fallen behind hospitals in terms of implementing information technology, which can pose a problem for surgery centers recruiting physicians and employees who have used IT at another facility. Administrators and physicians sometimes shy away from IT because of the potential obstacles it creates to providing patient care, but Surgical Notes' Jeff Blankinship says increased utilization of information technology can actually improve work flow processes.
Using technology for responsibilities such as transcription, scheduling and satisfaction surveys can increase center efficiencies, according to Mr. Blankinship. He suggests ASCs utilize as much technology as possible, which may require the management team and staff to be retrained in the available tools.
Related Articles on ASC Turnarounds:
6 Ways to Keep Eligible Cases at Your ASC: Advice From Dr. Brad Lerner of Summit Ambulatory Surgery Centers
5 Trends for ASC Administrators to Watch
10 Reasons Physicians Take Cases Out of Surgery Centers
1. Spread out ownership among physicians. Mike Lipomi, president and CEO of Surgical Management Professionals, says physician-owned surgery centers should try to spread out ownership of the center among more physicians. Recruit potential physician investors and then ask existing physicians to sell part of their ownership share to new physicians.
"It provides cash, reduces risk and brings more committed physicians who could utilize and grow the case volume of the facility," Mr. Lipomi says.
2. Consider hospital partnership. According to Marshall Maran, senior vice president of operations and physician services at Health Inventures in Broomfield, Colo., surgery centers considering new strategic direction might consider partnering with a hospital. He says hospitals are increasingly seeking joint ventures with physicians for surgery centers, and alignment with a hospital can help a surgery center achieve better managed care contracts and better deals on supplies.
He says surgery centers that partner with hospitals often bring in management companies to handle operations. The management companies also purchase a small equity share in the hospital-aligned ASC and can serve as a buffer between the hospital and physician partners. "Within the network of ASCs that we manage, more than 90 percent of them are JV deals that we've put together between physicians and hospitals," Mr. Maran says. "So obviously, we believe in this strategy and have been intimately involved in developing a lot of success stories."
3. Renegotiate or terminate managed care contracts. Rob Murphy, founder and CEO of Murphy Healthcare Group and founder of ASC Turnaround Group, says many surgery centers fail financially because they rely on poor managed care contracts. A center that consistently loses money on cases can approach bankruptcy rapidly. In the process of turning around a failing ASC, Mr. Murphy says his team reviews managed care contracts and often decides to re-negotiate the contracts or terminate them completely.
4. Use technology to your advantage. Surgery centers have traditionally fallen behind hospitals in terms of implementing information technology, which can pose a problem for surgery centers recruiting physicians and employees who have used IT at another facility. Administrators and physicians sometimes shy away from IT because of the potential obstacles it creates to providing patient care, but Surgical Notes' Jeff Blankinship says increased utilization of information technology can actually improve work flow processes.
Using technology for responsibilities such as transcription, scheduling and satisfaction surveys can increase center efficiencies, according to Mr. Blankinship. He suggests ASCs utilize as much technology as possible, which may require the management team and staff to be retrained in the available tools.
Related Articles on ASC Turnarounds:
6 Ways to Keep Eligible Cases at Your ASC: Advice From Dr. Brad Lerner of Summit Ambulatory Surgery Centers
5 Trends for ASC Administrators to Watch
10 Reasons Physicians Take Cases Out of Surgery Centers