Becker's ASC Review

81 QUALITY Columbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane pays nearly $15K to resolve ransomware attack affecting 400,000 patients: 4 details By Rachel Popa C olumbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane (Wash.) reported a ransomware attack affecting 400,000 patients to the HHS' Office for Civil Rights breach portal Feb. 18. The key details to know: 1. Columbia Surgical Specialists of Spokane sent a letter to its patients informing them of the attack, saying that the practice had paid the attackers $14,649.09 to unlock encrypted files. The practice said the ransom was paid by the practice's physicians, and expenses will not be passed on to patients. 2. The attack occurred Jan. 9, 2019, and Columbia Surgical Special- ists believes the data wasn't acquired or used by the attackers. 3. Columbia Surgical Specialists said it is reviewing their proce- dures and protocols to prevent a ransomware incident from occur- ring again. 4. This attack is the second largest reported to the OCR portal in 2019 so far, preceded by the data breach affecting 974,000 pa- tients of Seattle-based UW Medicine. Note: A representative from Columbia Surgical Specialists could not be reached for comment at the time of publication. n Colorado anesthesiologist's license suspended after allegedly obtaining opioids illegally — 4 insights By Eric Oliver C olorado Springs, Colo.-based anesthesiologist Agnes Flaum, MD, faces criminal charges after allegedly obtaining opioids illegally, The Gazette reports. What you should know: 1. Dr. Flaum allegedly had her employees and patients illegally obtain opioids for her. 2. She surrendered to police after a warrant was issued for her arrest. 3. Patients and employees alerted the past owner of the clinic where Dr. Flaum practices of her alleged actions. The owner then reported her to the police. 4. The Colorado Medical Board suspended her license after the charges were filed. n In-N-Out Burger's customer-focused philosophy: 5 things ASCs can learn By Angie Stewart I n-N-Out Burger, a 70-year-old company that Money Magazine named America's best fast food chain in 2018, has a business model ASCs can learn from, according to Global 1 Co-Principal and Convergent SameDay Orthopedic Strategies Managing Director Scott Leggett. Global 1 is a licensed third-party administrator and com- mercially insured bundled payments manager. Five In-N-Out concepts for ASCs to know: 1. Connecting quality to customer experience. e In- N-Out customer experience starts with fresh ingredients and employee training. Employees immediately learn the company's values, techniques and relentless cus- tomer focus. In a similar way, ASCs can enhance patient experience by paying careful attention to the beginning of the patient journey and providing focused management throughout the process. 2. Delivering consistency. Employees receive training on In-N-Out's "quality you can taste" philosophy on day one. e company carefully selects team members, sets expec- tations early on and continues investing in staff so they can focus on consistently delivering a quality product. By behaving like a concierge service company, ASCs can also put patients first and succeed with bundled payments. 3. Frying the competition. Whereas In-N-Out com- petes against dozens of other fast food chains, ASCs are competing against hospitals. Both are laser-focused on managing costs and providing the best possible experi- ence. To get an edge over hospitals, ASCs can work with independent surgeons and anesthesiologists to create a bundled payment structure. 4. Winning loyalty. In-N-Out customers have an alle- giance to the brand that other chains struggle to achieve. e chain won that loyalty by consistently delivering high-quality products. "Likewise, surgeons are loyal to ASCs for one simple reason: e experience for the surgeon and their patients is second to none," Mr. Leggett said. "Patients love the experience, outcomes and lower costs of ASCs. When the patient is happy, so is the surgeon." 5. Keeping it simple. e McDonald's and Burger King menus feature more than 80 items, similar to how hospi- tals provide a costly, complex array of services. Mean- while, In-N-Out serves less than 15 items, just as ASCs offer relatively few services. With a narrow focus, ASCs can standardize supplies, implants and other costs. n

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