1. Gather information. Find out how much the ASC makes on each case by each physician. This involves adding up the costs of supplies based on each physician’s preference card and adding that to staff costs, which involves multiplying time each physician spends on a case by hourly costs of clinical staff.
2. Focus on high-cost cases. For example, cataract cases might only require one simple overview, while an ACL repair might involve a deeper pre-case review. For example, it might include factoring in low reimbursements under Medicare, Medicaid or bad private contracts that could not be avoided.
3. Process the data into reports. Once case costs have been entered into your database, you can review them by CPT code and by physician and print out the data for physicians to review.
4. Review reports with physicians. Reports are most effective when physicians are reviewing them together. “No physician wants to be the guy who cost the most to do a cataract,” Mr. Brown says. Pick one type of case to review monthly or quarterly, but if there is a big discrepancy bring it to the physician’s attention right away.
Learn more about Meridian Surgical Partners.
Read more from the team at Meridian Surgical Partners:
–6 Best Practices for Collecting Payments From Patients
–How Quality Reporting and Information Technology Requirements Will Impact ASCs
