1. Researched physicians before approaching them. Thomas Holecek, administrator at Palos Surgicenter in Palos Heights, Ill., advises administrators not to walk into a meeting with a surgeon unprepared. Early on, you need to have some firm ideas about if, and how, this physician will work at your center. Mr. Holecek researched all potential physicians thoroughly to find out their needs, preferences, schedules, case loads and backgrounds. "My approach is to really do all the research you can before you reach out and market to various individuals," he says. "You should strive to learn as much as you can about them, such as where they have been, what they have done and what their preferences are."
By the time you approach physicians to talk seriously about your center, you are in a better position to emphasize your center's strengths and how they are consistent with the surgeon's needs. It also helps if you have already established a connection with the physician's office, as the scheduler and office manager typically serve as 'gatekeepers' to the physician's schedule.
2. Calculated expected case volume for incoming physicians. Depending on your center's specialty mix and case volumes, some surgeons will be a better fit than others. Before you start talking to physicians about opportunities at your center, do your homework and get a sense of the physician's ASC-appropriate case volume. "With spine surgeons, you can't do any and all spine cases in a [surgery center] setting," Mr. Holecek says. Further, it is just not possible for surgeons in some specialties to bring a large volume of cases per year.
He says ASC administrators must think about the number of cases that can realistically be moved to the surgery center setting. If a physician is bringing high volumes with reasonable reimbursement potential or low volumes with high reimbursement per case, you may want to pursue recruitment. If, on the other hand, a surgeon's volumes will be detrimental to the center, either due to insurance issues, risk or high expense, you may want to wait for another provider.
3. Commit to developing a program around a new subspecialty. Program development is key in recruitment of physicians and marketing that specialty to patients by essentially building programs around orthopedics, says eremy Bradshaw, vice president of operations at Denver-based HealthOne, which includes 12 surgery centers,. For example, we just formed a sports medicine institute at one of our locations, Centennial Medical Plaza, which includes a new pediatric orthopedic facility for kids and adolescents. Through that, we've recruited physicians from another facility because we didn't have enough physicians from this particular specialty. Marketing efforts are underway to promote that program.
4. Be prepared to answer questions about surgery center performance if they will be investors. Physicians are eager to get any outside perspective on how their possible investment is going to perform. "I always tell them, 'Doctor, we analyze the center, we try to tell you if the distributions are going to pay your note and going to pay the principle and interest and give you a little bit of money periodically for taxes,'" says Douglas Lewis, managing director, managing director of Physicians' Capital. "We have to be careful with how we answer those type of questions because all we can answer it from is the financial perspective we see. We can tell them what it looks like today, what the projections look like and how we're comfortable enough to lend the money but there is always a reaching out beyond the center asking questions about what [others] think about this deal."
Physicians want to make sure investing in a surgery center would be beneficial for them. "They're getting pitched by multiple centers, multiple companies, and what they're looking to find out is if the ASC(s) they're considering is a good deal" says Shannon LeRoy, CEO of Physicians' Capital. "Again, we have to be careful with how we handle those types of questions. They know the quality of the center and how the scheduling is going to be, but what they really want to know is whether this is going to work out for them."
Mr. Lewis says the second part of that question usually is, "If it doesn't work, then what happens? There are going to be underperforming months. We understand this business, so we provide the flexibility to work it out."
6. Find cost-saving methods for recruitment. Another way you may be able to reduce costs with staffing is through your recruitment process. "Often in the past you would just advertise in the newspaper or hire a recruiter," says Lori Vernon, regional vice president of operations at Health Inventures. "More and more people are looking at Craigslist and in some markets, Craigslist is free. You want to really explore your recruiting options, keeping track in your market where people are looking for jobs."
Using resources like Craigslist or free online job boards may not only represent savings but might help you reach a larger pool of candidates as well, especially if you are targeting younger professionals who may be more accustomed to these Internet resources. "Just because that's what you've always done, you might be spending way more than you need to as well as not reaching the people you want to reach," she says.
Related Articles on Physician Recruitment:
4 Steps for Successful Orthopedic Surgeon Recruitment
5 Tips to Improve Recruitment of Spine Physicians and Staff
AAOS: 5 Tips for Selecting Orthopedic Physician Partners