1. Align physicians with the center. Alan Beyer, MD, of Orthopedic Surgery Center of Orange County in Newport Beach, Calif., also attributes the growth and successes of the facility to the alignment of physician-owners with the surgery center. The alignment has allowed the surgery center to grow because physicians are more invested in its success, he says.
“Our physicians are always coming to the administration with new tools or equipment that come out, saying that it’s going to enable better quality care. That’s really showing the success and growth of this facility is physician-driven,” he says. “ASCs and physicians used to fight each other, but once they align that’s what’s going to drive the future of healthcare.”
2. Survey for physician satisfaction. ASCs should not only ensure every single patient leaves the ASC feeling happy and comfortable with the medical attention that was provided, but also ensure the physician is happy with the facility’s operational processes. Patients and physicians should be treated as customers because, at the end of the day, both parties are the key to an ASC’s business.
“Even though there is a huge focus on patient satisfaction at our ASC, we also want to make sure our surgeons are happy, and that’s done by making sure each patients visit to the ASC is satisfactory,” Elaine Thomas, administrator at St. Francis Mooresville (Ind.) Surgery Center, says. “The business the surgeons bring affects the long-terms success of our center.”
In order to gauge physician satisfaction, Ms. Thomas distributes annual physician satisfaction surveys to see which of the center’s weaknesses and strengths are contributing to physician happiness. The survey measures a myriad of parameters, including physicians’ comfort level with the staff, confidence in the staff, turnover and staff preparedness. “The physicians also know that my door is open, so if one physician wants to express something, they can bring their concerns or issues straight to me,” Ms. Thomas says.
3. Address non-investor satisfaction at board meetings. Tracking physician satisfaction will differ depending on the ASC, Aaron Murski, senior manager at VMG Health, says. “Some ASCs have five utilizers, and they’ve all invested, and they’ve had the same staff for 10 years,” he says. “In that case, physician satisfaction isn’t as much of an issue.” On the other hand, he says ASCs with more casual utilizers should aim to address physician satisfaction at monthly board meetings. “Keeping physicians happy is just as important as patient satisfaction,” he says. “If the ASC caters to the casual or non-invested utilizer or they have a very large utilization base, they should be looking at those scores once a month.”
4. Make the scheduling process seamless. Work closely with surgeons, paying special attention to their weekly schedules, to maximize efficiencies and the bottom line, says Susan Kizirian, MBA, BSN, RN, chief operating office of ASCOA. This requires convincing surgeons and their practice staff to embrace the ASC’s vertical scheduling and schedule compression model. “It takes a great deal of time and energy invested up front to understand each surgeon’s individual needs and the give-and-take dialog to reach compromise,” Ms. Kizirian says. “But once this is achieved, it is a win-win for the surgeon and the ASC.” Creating a productive schedule that takes into account both the needs of both surgeons and the ASC is like putting together “a multi-layered puzzle,” she says. It involves dealing with moving targets and implementing continuous improvement.
5. Build a team of excellent clinical staff support around the physicians. Melody Winter-Jabeck, administrator at Ravine Way Surgery Center in Glenview, Ill., says building a team of staff members with excellent expertise is another way to bring additional spine surgeons on board as well as ensure an optimal clinical experience for the spine surgeons, thereby maintaining physician satisfaction and their spine cases.
“[Spine surgeons] want to know that they are working with very experienced staff members so in case there is a complication or something doesn’t go as planned with a certain spine procedure, the team is well-equipped to handle it,” she says. “The key roles that are importing to building this support team are the clinical director and nurses who would be working in the OR and post-operative areas.”
6. Create a relationship with each physician’s liaison. Larry Taylor, president and CEO of Practice Partners in Healthcare, says ASC leaders should work to create a relationship with a physician’s liaison to ensure optimal satisfaction. “The liaison for the physician’s office may be an RN in the back or a physician’s assistant that will be the best advocate for the surgeon,” he says. “Use that staff to get their scheduler and figure out how you can help them efficiently schedule cases.” He says ASCs should work to be an “extension of the physician’s office” and regularly work with schedulers to send medical records, verify benefits and schedule cases.
