Here are three surgery centers that have undergone tremendous turnarounds in the last few years.
If you would like to recommend another surgery center for this list, contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com.
The Center for Special Surgery (San Antonio). In 2006, the surgery center performed an average of approximately 180 cases per month and made no distributions to physicians, according to a Becker's ASC Review article. After turnaround efforts were implemented, the ASC saw huge growth. In 2009, the center experienced an 85 percent growth in volume as compared to 2006 and even doubled the number of physicians that utilized the facility.
The surgery center engaged Regent Surgical Health to help ensure a successful turnaround. The center examines reimbursement and reevaluated the self-pay fee schedule for both cosmetic and plastic surgery cases. It also made the decision to remain in-network for all payers in the market. In addition, the turnaround team began analyzing case costing reports and worked to secure better pricing for both implant and disposable products for orthopedic cases. Also, the team analyzed physician referral patterns and began to focus on figuring out why investors were not utilizing the center to their full potential.
The surgery center includes 12 physicians providing care in a wide array of specialties, including ENT, orthopedics, otoneurology, podiatry and pain management.
Southern Indiana Surgery Center (Bloomington). The surgery center, which had been a successful business, found itself struggling when the orthopedic group working with the center left to establish their own facility in 2008, according to a Becker's ASC Review article. ASD Management was engaged to help turn the facility around.
The team helped the center install an active risk management program and brought more structure to the clinical side of the center, which was one of its strong suits. They also brought a new inventory process to the facility and renegotiated managed care contracting. Finally, the entire business office was reshaped, and transcription and coding was outsourced. New accounting controls were also installed.
"As the center began to do better, physicians started coming back," said Joe Zasa, cofounder and principal of ASD Management. "If the physicians didn't buy into the process, we would have failed. But, they did and we are still growing."
Opened in 1993, the center has four operating rooms and two gastroenterology suites.
Surgery Center of Northeast Texas (Texarkana). The surgery center's founding partners were nearly locked out of their facility due to low case volume, which led to their inability to pay rent, according to a Becker's ASC Review article. The ASC had several barriers to success, including the fact that it serves many Medicare and Medicaid patients because of which a portion of its cases had lower reimbursements.
"It took a while to do this turnaround. It's a small community, and the center had gained a reputation. But we figured it out, and now we're able to distribute on a regular basis," said Marlene Bell, RN, MN, CASC, CNOR, senior vice president of operations at Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America, who led the turnaround efforts.
The team began by finding the right individuals to help the center grow and thrive. Ms. Bell and several other ASCOA personnel helped recruit a new administrator, a new suite of business office employees and a trio of recruited physicians. "The staff here is great — they were just lacking in leadership. Once the staffing changes were made, everyone stepped up and showed they have what it takes to make a successful center," said Robin Walter, RN, who initially joined the center as clinical coordinator but was named administrator when the turnaround occurred.
The surgery center provides care in a wide array of specialties, such as neuro-spine, orthopedics, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, general surgery, ENT, pain management and urology.
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