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“We are an integrated practice, which sets us apart from other pain centers,” says Kathleen Leitao, MM, RN, CNOR, the center’s director of surgery. “We have several specialists treating one singular disease: pain. We believe in looking at the patient as a whole and not finding just one single solution.”
Ms. Leitao shares five business practices contributing to the practice’s success.
1. Employ a community liaison. Referrals are the lifeblood of pain management practices, and Ms. Leitao says employing a community liaison provides the practice with a steady stream of referrals. “The community liaison goes out to the primary care physicians on a daily basis,” she says.
Ms. Leitao says the community liaison generally brings in 80-90 new patients through referrals every month. The key, she says, is once primary care physicians know about the practice — and are satisfied with their patients’ experience — they will continue to refer patients there.
2. Create a medication management program. One of the biggest and most challenging issues facing physicians who treat pain right now is the prescribing and possible abuse of opioids. Boston PainCare has had a medication management program in place for several years. “It’s a well-defined program,” she says. “It takes a number of weeks to get into our program.”
Patients in the program are only prescribed medication every 30 days and are given urine drug tests every month, more often if needed, Ms. Leitao says. She recommends pain management practices look at their systems to make sure they’re doing everything right in terms of guidelines and lab testing. This includes things like UDTs and keeping a close eye on patients who are prescribed medication.
3. Negotiate with vendors on a regular basis. Supply costs can hinder the profitability of any center, but regular negotiation with vendors and distributors can mitigate this, Ms. Leitao says. “Every year, we’re looking at different distributors,” she says. “We’ve just recently changed distributors because they were able to get the price down.”
When switching to a new product, Ms. Leitao also ensures physicians have a trial period to “test drive” the product. She says most suppliers are willing to supply a sample of an item. This ensures physicians are satisfied with the product in terms of patient safety as well as price before the practice commits to a large order.
4. Get physician-owners involved in center operations. Ms. Leitao says another aspect contributing to the practice’s success is the physician-owners are very involved in day-to-day operations. “Our physician-owners are very easy going and get along very well,” she says. “They are involved with what we do. If any issues or problems come up, they are easily accessible and here if you need them.”
Ms. Leitao says all physicians, the practice’s two directors and one practice manager have an open-door policy to address any concerns or personal issues staff might have. The practice staff also has one building meeting a week for 30-45 minutes to keep all staff abreast of what’s going on in the practice.
5. Ensure staff is trained in chronic pain. Part of these weekly meetings include educational sessions on general issues related to pain such as medication, surgical interventions and how staff would deal with a patient coming in for physical therapy. “With the education and training we give regarding chronic pain once a week to all disciplines, it allows the staff to do their jobs and know how to do it compressively and with an evidence-based approach,” says. Ms. Leitao.
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