Becker's ASC Review

43 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING 2 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING SPONSORED BY Drive staff and physician recruitment and retention with revenue cycle outsourcing By Ken Bulow, executive vice president of operations, Surgical Notes F or ASCs to remain viable and achieve long-term success in this highly competitive environment, they must contin- uously pursue growth opportunities and improve various aspects of their operations. Two of the foundational pillars for ASC sustainability and growth are staff and physician recruit- ment and retention. Yet these are also some of the biggest challenges facing sur- gery centers nationwide — challenges that must be overcome if an ASC hopes to benefit from the rapidly shifting movement toward outpatient services. Without adequate staff and physi- cians, a surgery center's ability to grow through adding new pro- cedures and specialties and expanding its physical footprint will prove difficult at best. To be successful with staff and physician retention and recruit- ment, ASCs will want to follow some tried-and-true tactics. For staff recruitment and retention, this includes widely publiciz- ing openings, relying on existing staff for personnel and work environment improvement recommendations, and increasing compensation and strengthening benefits. For physician staff recruitment and retention, a combination of leaning on the current physician base, offering desired block times and possi- bly ownership shares, investing in new clinical technology, and making scheduling cases simple remain effective tactics. But one strategy not typically associated with staff and physi- cian recruitment and retention that's proving to be very helpful for surgery centers in these areas is outsourcing their revenue cycle management (RCM). Surgery centers generally outsource their RCM to an ASC billing company with hopes that doing so will improve their financial performance. While that is still likely to be the primary motivating factor for RCM outsourcing, ASCs should understand how outsourcing can have a significant, pos- itive impact on staff and physician recruitment and retention. Benefits for staffing With ASCs facing increased competition for staff, often from organizations that can offer higher salaries and better benefits (e.g., hospitals), it's increasingly difficult to attract and keep the staff needed to support operations. Here a few of the most sub- stantial ways outsourcing RCM helps: • Outsourcing reduces the number of staff who must be re- cruited and retained. With ongoing access and support from a team of ASC revenue cycle experts, a center can eliminate open in-house business office positions, reliance on part-time and as-needed (i.e., pro re nata) business of- fice staff, and paying for overtime when full-time staff are unavailable or unable to take on more work. If an existing business office staff member leaves the facility or wants to move to reduced hours, the ASC billing company can take over the available work. • Existing business office staff receive additional support from the ASC billing company which makes them more produc- tive, successful, and satisfied with their work. Staff who were working excessive overtime or juggling multiple roles can move to a more reasonable schedule, helping reduce the potential for burnout that often contributes to staff turnover. • By reducing in-house business office positions, an ASC's leadership can allocate more time and energy to recruiting and retaining the clinical and operational staff it physically needs at the facility. • Freed up office space can make working conditions more comfortable for remaining business office staff or be con- verted to help with clinical and operational performance. • With the savings from reduced business office salaries and benefits, an ASC is likely to find itself able to offer more competitive salaries and benefits to the staff it needs to re- cruit and retain. • The financial improvements that typically come with out- sourcing can also support staff recruitment and retention. ASCs can offer higher salaries, better benefits, and bonus- es and make investments in new furniture, technology, and other areas that can create a more welcoming, productive, and appealing work environment. Benefits for physicians ASCs also face increasing competition for physicians, from hos- pitals and other ASCs. Outsourcing RCM helps ASCs with physi- cian recruitment and retention in a number of ways: • RCM outsourcing typically leads to a meaningful improve- ment in financial performance. For current and future own- ers, that tends to translate to increases in distributions, investments in new clinical technology that can help physi- cians expand their surgical volume and improve outcomes, and higher value of ownership shares.

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