LuAnne Jordan, RN, administrator of Savannah (Ga.) F&A ASC faced that scenario last year, but her team found a way to make sure a high-volume practice’s cases were still scheduled at the ASC even after the practice was acquired by a local hospital.
Question: What is the smartest thing you did last year to set your center up for success?
LuAnne Jordan: We are a very small surgery center. When one of our most productive surgeon’s offices was bought out by the hospital, they attempted to send all the surgeries to their hospital even though their buyout agreement allowed for them to continue to bring surgeries to our center. Staff would tell the physicians that the patient’s insurance would not pay in our surgery center and schedule them at the hospital.
Our center now precerts all of their patients for surgery, so we do not miss any cases. If the patient’s insurance does not allow them to come to our center, we send the information back to the office, and then the patient is scheduled in the hospital. A lot of work for us, but at least we capture the surgeries!
More articles on surgery centers:
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Former Iowa ASC surgeon surrenders medical license: 4 details
