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The Affordable Care Act expanded coverage to millions in attempt to improve the quality of care in the United States. Like many healthcare professionals, surgeons are trying to find a way to navigate through the new legislation.
Balancing cost, quality and patient satisfaction is a challenge post healthcare reform. Here are five ways to keep your spine practice ahead of the curve:
1. Utilizing midlevel providers. PAs and NPs have the ability to provide high quality health services while remaining cost-effective. The increasing number of patients seeking access to medical care is rising and using midlevel providers is one way to manage the costs. Patients are able to be seen in a timely manner since the physician won't be overbooked and the PA or NP will be able to refer the patient to the physician when needed.
2. Be proactive, not reactive. In most cases practices suffer when a surgeon decides to leave because recruiting and finding a replacement is difficult and time consuming. Instead of having to struggle to find a replacement take the extra steps to ensure the surgeon's salary is competitive and the work environment is stable and there is room for growth. High turnover can be damaging to your practice; the more steps you take in the beginning to minimize the likelihood of a surgeon leaving the better off your practice will be financially.
3. Stay current. Staying on top of the legislation and current topics in healthcare and spine education will only benefit spine surgeons and their practices. Also, encouraging medical providers to attend continuing education seminars will also help the staff feel empowered during this time of transition.
4. Professional infrastructure. High-quality healthcare depends upon the presence of well-trained, dedicated healthcare professionals. Hiring high-quality providers will only enhance the service the physicians are providing as well as keeping patients happy with their care.
5. Ancillary services. Adding ancillary services to your practice can be expensive but once you’ve done the research you may find that an initial expense will pay off long term. Adding ancillaries will improve the continuity and quality of care received by the patients. Although spine surgery is necessary in many cases there are instances where the patient may want to try other alternatives before opting for surgery. Decide if your practice has both the financial and physical space to support it first. By having ancillary services available you are making the patient's visit more convenient and adding extra revenue to your practice.