Mr. Fowler first discussed two relationships that are important to foster when running or growing an ASC. He said that having good physician-physician relationships is the first step. “Physicians need to develop trust and work together,” Mr. Fowler said. The other important relationship Mr. Fowler covered was the relationship between physicians and the ASC management company. He said that once the physicians and the management company respect each other, it empowers the entire business.
Besides relationships, Mr. Fowler said that having an electronic medical record system is the key to maximizing revenue in an endoscopy center. He said that, when picking an EMR system, administrators should go “past sufficient diligence” and speak with the users to make sure they like the system that they will be using on a daily basis. Mr. Fowler also stressed that finding a “perfect” EMR system is nearly impossible.
Growing the business
Mr. Fowler and Dr. Kim then discussed internal and external ways of increasing patient volume in an ambulatory endoscopy center.
Both speakers discussed the importance of marketing when attempting to grow or syndicate an endoscopy center. “Even if you dominate the market, I recommend you allocate money to [creating] awareness,” Mr. Fowler said. Dr. Kim agreed, and said it is important to market each physician strongly online. “Having a strong website is critical,” Dr. Kim said. “Try to get high on search sites.” He also recommended including educational material, such as facts on colonoscopies, on the site.
Both stressed the importance of transparency in an endoscopy center to improve patient volume from within. They recommended making data from each physician, such as revenue generated and revenue used, available to all the physicians in the center. “When that is front and center, it is empowering,” said Mr. Fowler. Mr. Kim agreed that it is a good way to get physicians to increase their volume.
Finally, Mr. Fowler and Dr. Kim discussed external strategies for endoscopy centers looking to expand patient volume. One major strategy was joining in a joint venture with a hospital. In this situation, Mr. Fowler said it is important to focus on both the contracts with the hospital and the hospital’s philosophy. “Hospitals need to understand that centers should be physician-run,” he said. He also recommended having a redemption provision that allows the administrators to buy the center back from the hospital. “That will be a dog fight and will be one of the last terms [the hospital] agrees to,” he said, but he stressed that centers should stand their ground and not give away control of the business.
