Leverage these three simple tactics in your ASC to help increase efficiency and financial performance.
Your ASCs are continually challenged to be efficient and cost-effective. Looking for ongoing ways to optimize OR revenue is part of a focus on ongoing process improvement.
How can you do so? The answer lies in factors like case scheduling, resource allocation, supply costs, and other key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to surgery-specific metrics. Data can reveal needed process improvements and ways to achieve positive changes related to these types of case flow and business needs. Executing these opportunities can bring about increased revenue and decreased costs.
The following tips will help you take advantage of operating room analytics and established approaches to operational efficiency so your ORs can see greater profitability per procedure and overall financial success.
1. Emphasize physician engagement
If you want to enact changes in the operating room, you need support from those who work in the OR, especially your physicians. The best way to get their active, visible assistance is to engage them. Encourage their participation in addressing process improvements rather than merely telling them what to do. Physicians are, of course, at the core of much of the work done within the OR, so they have unique insight into operational practices and can be great resources in figuring out how to make things better — for your ASC and themselves, especially if they are owners who would personally benefit from financial improvements. Empower your physicians to get more involved, and you will likely see more buy-in when it comes to embracing change.
However, process improvements do not just require engagement from leadership. You will want to engage the entire team. It can help to think of your organization as a larger universe that is made up of a bunch of microsystems or small groups of providers and staff that work together to deliver care. Boil the process down to the smallest units of care activity and work to refine the processes within them.
2. Measure performance appropriately
The best OR process improvement initiatives tend to be driven by data. You must be able to measure performance to effectively gauge progress. But how do you know what to measure? Consider following a logic model process that looks at the end goal, objectives, drivers, and metrics. Start with your end goal (improvement in patient throughput, for example) to define your objective(s) — in this case, improved on-time first case starts and decreased turnover time. Then, decide on the drivers you want to focus on to achieve those objectives, and specify metrics that are indicators of the drivers. To improve on-time case starts, for example, you should track case delays, work to best ensure anesthesia availability, and provide patients with the appropriate information for arrival.
SIS Analytics is a highly effective solution for capturing an ASC's data and analyzing individual perioperative metrics. The technology is helping ASCs see a clear view of their operations, identify opportunities for improvement, and monitor and build upon their progress.
3. Celebrate process improvement successes
No matter how big or small the initiative, find a way to celebrate successful process improvements. Doing so will not only help recognize those involved, but also it can promote a culture of innovation and encourage future efforts for quality improvement.
Celebrating success does not need to be fancy. It can be as simple as hanging a sign of recognition on the bulletin board or going as far as to provide a bonus incentive. Be sure to spread the word of your success by taking advantage of your ASC's various communication outlets (e.g., email, text message, social media) to let everyone know the good news, especially if the change you are making offers benefits to your patients.
Getting Your ASC to Operate Smart
SIS Complete helps drive efficiencies in and out of the operating room with powerful analytics capabilities, physician engagement tools, streamlined billing and scheduling workflows, and more. Take a look at SIS Complete and see how the industry-leading ASC software can fit your business and clinical needs and priorities.
