1. Exercise transparency. A key element of AAAHC’s 10-step performance improvement process is to communicate the findings of performance improvement efforts to physicians, staff and the governing body. Joe Ollayos, administrator at Tri-Cities Surgery Center in Geneva, Ill., says his surgery center sends a full “Performance Improvement Program Report” from its physician executive committee to its management board on a quarterly basis.
“Every meeting, there is a report on our performance improvement program, so we’ll look at the number of cases performed, the benchmarking comparisons, patient satisfaction survey results, peer review, what the incidents were and the resolutions that resulted from those incidents,” he says. “Then the physician executives will take that report to the full management board so we are able to complete the cycle of communication.”
Performance improvement study results are also reviewed with staff at their monthly meetings.
2. Make final supply purchases with the orthopedic physicians. Signing a contract with a supplier for orthopedic devices without physician involvement can be detrimental to the financial health of your orthopedic-driven ASC. Obtaining feedback from physicians on potential supplies can help ASCs better gauge which orthopedic devices are worth investing in.
“Without getting physician feedback and buy-in, [orthopedic-driven ASCs] could end up paying out money for some extremely expensive orthopedic supplies while the ASC physicians are wanting to use another supply,” Elaine Thomas, administrator at St. Francis Mooresville (Ind.) Surgery Center, says. “Facilities will want to make sure, before signing, that that particular orthopedic supply is the one the ASC’s physicians want to use.”
To get optimal feedback, Ms. Thomas suggests ASCs request a free trial of the orthopedic device if the ASC’s orthopedic physicians have not had a chance to already use it.
3. Keep physicians in the loop about new processes and procedures. Whenever an ASC takes on a new initiative to change a patient safety-related process or procedure, it’s always a good idea to keep physicians in the loop about those changes. Dr. Walker says when CMS released the new conditions for coverage in 2009, the surgery center’s quality improvement committee worked on a plan of action but, as a last step, took it to the board of physician-owners.
“We went to the board with our plan of action on how to tackle the new conditions for coverage and asked them if they had any suggestions for the plan,” Sheryl Walker, MD, a surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, says. “After asking for their input, they were happy with the action plan and understood how it would work for our facility.”
