Improving scheduling, keeping up with coding and billing changes and combatting data fragmentation are three inefficiencies orthopedic surgeons are fixing and enhancing day to day.
Three orthopedic surgeons connected with Becker’s to talk about the efficiencies that they are working to improve upon.
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to orthopedic surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. Becker’s invites all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is one inefficiency in your practice that you’re actively working to fix?
Ronald Gardner, MD. Founder of Gardner Orthopedics (Fort Myers, Fla.): It varies: Scheduling across the board is rarely ideal (I couldn’t do that job!) but providing the highest quality of care while efficiently combining documentation with coding, billing, etc., is always a challenge. We try to address these inefficiencies daily and learn more from our failures than our successes.
David Kugelman, MD. Joint Replacement Surgeon at Rothman Orthopaedics (Philadelphia): We’re actively improving education around coding and billing to avoid underbilling. Given the frequent changes in CMS guidelines, this has become a critical focus for financial sustainability.
Madhish Patel, DO. Orthopedic Surgeon at Gardner Orthopedics (Fort Myers, Fla.): Data fragmentation. This goes hand in hand with optimizing the practice’s electronic medical record systems. The current market leading softwares are prohibitively expensive for small- to medium-sized practices.
