Becker's ASC Review

19 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP DePuy Synthes' products for each patient. "My friends in the ASC setting are telling me they need us to provide them with customized solutions that help to streamline their surgical experience and help them lower the cost of surgeries in the ASC and manage the increased responsibility and risk that's in line with the rapidly evolving needs of surgeon entrepreneurs and ASC administrators" Mr. Leday said. "If we're helping them to make their practices move smoothly, it's easier on their staff, more cost effective, which of course supports their bottom line and patient satisfaction." And in an ever changing medical landscape, as ASCs are fighting to stay ahead of the curve and increase capacities to draw patients from inpatient hospitals, Mr. Leday believes that ASCs have to be innovative and different to stand out from their competitors. "If you look at the curve and the fact that the volume within ASCs is going to continue to grow, the number of ASCs that open their doors continue to grow, it's really just to streamline that workflow and really deliver that economic value that allows them to manage risk while driving profits," he said. "And leveraging technology to meet the ever-growing patient demand. Status quo is not enough. Repacking solutions delivered at the hospital or inpatient level is not enough. We need to be agile and help them customize to their unique needs in order to forge forward." n Working in healthcare 'tenuous at present,' CEO says By Patsy Newitt C raig Sarine, CEO of University Surgical Associates in Chattanooga, Tenn., joined Becker's to discuss what he wishes his co-workers knew about his job and the migration of procedures to the outpatient setting. Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for clarity and brevity. Question: What do you wish your co-workers knew about your job? Craig Sarine: I guess it is a "wish they knew, but they are probably glad they don't know" thing. This has been a challenging time in healthcare. Navigating regulations, insurance company gauntlets and maintaining competitive pay scales in an environment of continually shrinking payment rates make continued participation in our industry tenuous at present. It would be nice if the staff knew what it took to keep the ship sailing, but part of our job is to take care of all that so they can continue to focus on providing the best care possible. Q: Are you seeing payers moving procedures to the ASC setting, or are you seeing more obstacles to securing reimbursements? CS: We actually manage an hospital outpatient department for a hospital, so we somewhat fall in the middle between hospitals and ASCs. In my "day job" as the administrator of a surgical practice, we are finding payers pushing to move procedures to local ASCs and away from any hospital (inpatient, outpatient and HOPD) facilities. Fortunately and unfortunately, in Chattanooga, there is only one general ASC — all the others are specialty (orthopedic, gastroenterology, ophthalmic) oriented — so we are still able to get procedures reluctantly approved at a hospital. n Are payers pushing procedures to ASCs? By Patsy Newitt T wo leaders joined Becker's to discuss whether payers are pushing procedures to ASCs and other outpatient settings. Laren Tan, MD. Chair of Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health's Department of Medicine. There are definitely more policies and obstacles being issued by payers that nudge patient care in obtaining treatments outside the hospital settings. At times the preauthorization can be complex, which leads to not only clinician frustration but also a complicated patient experience. It is understandable why payers are moving procedures to the ASC setting. Still, it also highlights the complexity of our healthcare environment and the increasing challenge it is and will be for clinicians as we continue to navigate the ever-changing healthcare economic landscape. Craig Sarine. CEO of University Surgical Associates (Chattanooga, Tenn.): We actually manage an hospital outpatient department for a hospital, so we somewhat fall in the middle between hospitals and ASCs. In my "day job" as the administrator of a surgical practice, we are finding payers pushing to move procedures to local ASCs and away from any hospital (inpatient, outpatient and HOPD) facilities. Fortunately and unfortunately, in Chattanooga, there is only one general ASC — all the others are specialty (orthopedic, gastroenterology, ophthalmic) oriented — so we are still able to get procedures reluctantly approved at a hospital. n

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