1. Benchmark patient flow. Benchmarking patient flow involves a number of different things, including measuring where patient flow is most frequently backed up and how long delays are drawn out in certain areas of an ASC. Bunny Twiford, RN, president of Twiford Consulting in Warminster, Pa., says two main areas ASCs should focus on for patient flow is the admit area and the recovery room.
“There may be a back-up in the patient admit area because an ASC has multiple physicians working with patients in multiple rooms, so unless those patients are being moved along efficiently and the physician is keeping on time, you’re going to have some delays and irate patients,” says Ms. Twiford. “Also, a common reason for back-ups in the recovery room is that patients are simply waiting for the physician to come in and discharge them.”
The key behind benchmarking patient flow is determining specific patterns and finding the cause of throughput problems. “It’s not definitive enough for an ASC to know that it is always backed up on Thursdays. It’s better for an ASC to know that it has been backed up in the recovery room every Thursday for the past two months because oftentimes ASCs think it’s one problem causing the back-ups when the root of the problem is something totally different,” she says.
From “4 Core Things ASCs Should Benchmark.”
2. Focus on efficient and accurate coding. Melody Winter-Jabeck, administrator at Ravine Way Surgery Center in Glenview, Ill., says ASCs should also be focused on coding to ensure claims are being processed in a timely manner and are sitting in your ASC’s A/R for as little time as possible.
“It’s about really knowing your business,” she says. “For instance, our ASC does mainly orthopedics. So for a scope or carpal tunnel procedure, our coders really have to know what is going to get paid, what will get rejected and not waste time on factors that companies will deny or slow up claims.”
Ms. Winter-Jabeck says hiring the right staff members from the onset will help ASCs capture payments more quickly and build more efficient revenue cycles. In addition, more successful coding can be accomplished mainly by providing continuing education opportunities for your staff members. “Our ASC’s investors understand that if we’re not educating our staff members on coding issues, the facility is not going to be able to generate the best possible revenue. So we’ll send staff members to receive coding certification and have them attend seminars and conferences throughout the year to stay up-to-date on coding issues,” she says.
From “5 Best Practices to Improve Your ASC’s Revenue Cycle.”
4. Invest in payment tracking software. After a physician enters into a contract with a payor, he or she often assumes the contracts are met. However, payors sometimes underpay on contracts and losing this money can make a big difference to the practice. Dave Wold, CEO of Healthcare Information Services, says one of his clients recently identified over 500,000 underpayments while another discovered 100,000 instances where the payor stopped paying for a second procedure when contract guidelines stated the payor would. Payment tracking software allows the physician to enter in different negotiation schedules and then run the payments through to ensure the payor is meeting contract guidelines with each claim.
From “4 Technologies to Improve Orthopedic Practice Revenue Cycle Management.”
3. Purchase brands of ASC supplies. Shawn Lunney, vice president of sales and marketing for Gig Harbor, Wash.-based GMD, a company that develops generic medical device products, says ASCs can yield enormous savings just by considering alternative, generic brand supplies. Although the last 20-30 years have been marked by tremendous advancements in medical technology, much of that has been tied to high costs. However, the healthcare industry is now coming into an age where medical supplies may be coming out in generic forms, which will give ASCs the opportunity to consider alternatives at a lower cost, says Mr. Lunney.
“What has happened in the pharmaceutical market is now being carried out in the medical devices market,” he says. “In the pharmaceutical market, it used to be all about the new expensive blockbuster drug, but now 70-80 percent of prescriptions have some generic variation.”
For example, companies, such as GMD and Gold Standard Orthopaedics in Louisville, Ky., respectively offer devices such as orthopedic screws for approximately half the price of brand-name versions of similar medical devices.
From “4 Target Areas for ASC Supply Chain Savings.”
5. Elect staff members to monitor finances, particularly pre-collection and billing functions. There are approximately three staff members who work at Midlands Orthopaedics as financial account specialists. These specialists’ primary role is to meet with patients before surgery to pre-collect copays, deductibles and co-insurance amounts and work out payment plans as needed, Ann Margaret McCraw, CEO, and Belinda Rutledge, administrator, of Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center in Columbia, S.C., says. Delegating specific responsibilities, such as pre-procedural collections, to staff members helps ASCs collect in a more efficient manner.
“Our financial account specialists collect both for our professional practice and ASC, so our patients don’t have to make separates trips for different bills,” she says. “These staff members are trained to have those sensitive conversations with our patients and know how to interpret statements, EOBs and explain deductibles. So it helps our ASC and practice because the payments from one patient are all funneled to a specialist, and it’s nice for our patients because it alleviates confusion on their part as they navigates bills from both entities.”
From “6 Ways to Increase Profitability at Your Orthopedic-Driven ASC.”
