Becker's ASC Review

11 Becker's ASC 21st Annual Meeting – The Business and Operations of ASCs – Call (800) 417-2035 I'm talking to my lawyer. I'd recommend you to family and friends. Great facility! Choose the SurveyVitals complete ASC solution for real improvement Improve patient satisfaction Increase situational awareness Satisfy compliance requirements Mitigate malpractice Valid feedback or stacks of useless paper? Real-time data. Real improvement. Visit our booth at the Becker's ASC Conference in October Learn more: www.SurveyVitals.com/start/asc 6. Expert-level knowledge of credential- ing, licensing and Medicare certification rules and regulations. Credentialing is ex- tremely problematic for ASCs seeking accredi- tation or re-accreditation; the highly detailed process is the number one cause of accreditation problems observed by surveyors from every ma- jor ambulatory accreditation organization. "If an organization doesn't have a person with those kinds of skills, that's often where they may fall short," said Michael Kulczycki, MBA, CAE, ex- ecutive director of The Joint Commission's Ambu- latory Accreditation Program. He recommends if administrators can't directly handle accreditation themselves, they should find the right person, pro- vide them with the time they need to create a good system and check in regularly to assess compliance with accreditation and readiness for surveys. 7. Safety and quality prioritization. Bet- ter patient safety is an oft-mentioned advantage ASCs have over hospitals. Administrative support for the creation of and adherence to comprehen- sive infection control and patient safety is neces- sary to maintain this advantage. Daily huddles, dissemination of quality information, checklists and a trained infection preventionist are all great ways to keep ASC surgery valuable and safe. Maintaining ASC quality high also requires admin- istrators to have flexibility and a positive attitude, according to Ms. Martin. "An administrator needs to be a good listener, be honest, have patience and be flexible. One-hundred different things come up in a day that weren't on the list to be addressed but require attention. It is really important to prioritize and re-prioritize to get the most important things done and to roll with the punches," she says. 8. Staff search and retention capabilities. An ASC is only as good as the people who staff it. A great administrator recognizes talent in potential hires and works to keep excellent staff members on board. "Everyone has a part in running things smoothly. They take pride in their work, and the administrator does not have to micromanage," said Lori Martin, administrator of Summit Surgery Cen- ter in Reno, Nev., in a Becker's ASC Review report. 9. Good physician and patient satisfac- tion maintenance. Physicians and patients are both ASC customers. Physicians can choose to perform cases elsewhere, and patients can choose to undergo procedures at a hospital or another surgery center. Maintaining high levels of satisfac- tion in both groups is paramount to case volume and a center's reputation. "A good ASC administrator must have the ability to communicate effectively with surgeons, who can be very demanding and have very strong personalities," says Bruce Feldman, MS, CPPM, administrator and director of operations at Island Endoscopy Center in West Islip, N.Y. "They need to have the ability to lis- ten and involve their surgeons in the decision mak- ing process, especially when it comes to purchasing new equipment and instrumentation." "You have to make the physician's experience seamless, so he doesn't have to do extra work. It goes back to customer service — facilities have to remember physicians are some of their most important customers," said Kelli McMahan, vice president of operations at Pinnacle III in an Beck- er's ASC Review report. Patient satisfaction initiatives, whether conducted through a simple survey or more in-depth, allow ASC administrators to gauge the patient experi- ence and find ways to improve it. "It helps us see our center through their eyes as a patient," said Slocum Surgery Center administrator Shelley Yuva in a Becker's ASC Review report. "We, as employees, do this day-in and day-out and have a very different functional assessment." 10. Ability to stay ahead of the curve. Healthcare is changing rapidly and placing pres- sure on providers to keep pace. ASCs are well- positioned as high-quality, low-cost providers, but truly successful centers will seek innovative ways to stand out through initiatives such as price transparency or bundled payments. "I think an area where all who run ASCs can improve is to give serious thought to embracing the same dis- cipline and competition [that] the free market forces all other businesses to endure," says Keith Smith, MD, administrator of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. "This mindset will continue to set the quality, price and value of ASCs apart from the mono- lithic hospitals and their bankrupting charges." n

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