Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1516121
6 ASC MANAGEMENT Number of active physicians for 3 ASC specialties By Cameron Cortigiano A nesthesiology has the highest number of active physicians out of three ASC specialty fields, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment data from the agency was updated April 25. Here are the number of active physicians in three ASC specialties and the provider setting with the highest employment for the specialty. Anesthesiologists Total number of physicians: 37,430 Setting with the most anesthesiologists: Offices of physicians (30,430) Cardiologists Total number of physicians: 16,870 Setting with the most cardiologists: Offices of physicians (11,700) Ophthalmologists Total number of physicians: 12,580 Setting with the most ophthalmologists: Offices of physicians (10,640) n ASCs' biggest challenge? The ongoing 'change menace' By Claire Wallace A SCs face several challenges headed into 2024, one being a fast-paced and ever-changing healthcare landscape that consistently keeps practices and administrators on their toes. Emma Gimmel, BSN, RN, director of nursing at Manhattan Endoscopy in New York City, told Becker's how ongoing changes in the healthcare industry force her team to stay ahead of patient reviews and patient expectations at all times. Ms. Gimmel: In healthcare, the trend I keep in the forefront is the ongoing change menace. ere are too many moving parts, and mostly moving at fast speed. Most everything is changing, sometimes simultaneously, and it seems as a common denominator across industries. is requires us to review and reassess our strategies with more frequency. To remain relevant in our practices, it is best to keep an eye on changes on an ongoing basis. It helps to keep an engineered mechanism to alert us of changes. Our communication venues and information sources exert a great deal of influence across lines since information is shared at lighting speed. Our patient experience, previously known as customer satisfaction, is influenced by impressive external forces creating expectations even before our initial interactions. If we do not take the opportunity and attempt to establish expectations starting with the very first interaction, our clients arrive with their external derived expectations which may not favor the services we provide. Failed expectations are real and at times unfair to our delivery. Other good sources of information we have to watch are the patients' comments penned in the surveys, which may offer changing trends in impressions, variables in our services, or opportunities we can review or find a way to reestablish expectations to align with our intended delivery and services. n Springfield Clinic, ASCs back in-network with BCBS of Illinois By Laura Dyrda S pringfield (Ill.) Clinic has reached a new agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois to bring members back in the network beginning Jan. 1, 2024. The five year agreement comes after a tumultuous two year disupte. Springfield Clinic went out of network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois in November 2021, knocking out 55,000 beneficiaries in the clinic's coverage areas. High medical costs were the sticking point, as the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on contracted rates. Springfield Clinic also formed its own health plan in the interim to serve companies with 10 or more employees. n Why physicians are exiting medicine By Riz Hatton T wenty-six percent of physicians are considering leaving their primary roles as physicians to pivot to nonclinical careers, according to Medscape's "Physicians and Nonclinical Careers Report 2023." What's the appeal of switching to a nonclinical career? According to the Medscape report, 25% of physicians said nonclinical careers appeal to them because they want to work fewer hours. The second most popular reason is burnout unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic, which 24% of physicians identified with. What comes after medicine? The most popular career physicians are considering switching to is education and teaching, which 42% are considering. Thirty-one percent are considering healthcare business companies, and 21% are considering writing, according to the Medscape report. n