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8 13th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine – Call (800) 417-2035 Healthcare providers have many responsibilities today. "The goal is to provide care that is accessible, affordable, accountable and acceptable to the patient," says Ray Grundman, senior director of external relations and a surveyor with the Ac- creditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. "We should think about every patient as an individual, and that shapes our habits to provide a better patient experience. Not everyone has the same anxieties about surgery, and we want to make sure we're providing personalized care." Mr. Grundman says acceptable care is shaped by these characteristics: • Achieves good clinical outcomes following evidence-based methodology • Delivered cost-effectively • Adds value to the patient-provider relationship "Think about the goals of the triple aim and how they can apply to your patients today," says Mr. Grundman. "Always search for additional value to add to the patient's experience. This is especially important in postoperative care. We oftentimes overlook the things that can happen when pa- tients leave the facility. Make sure they know who to call when they have questions or problems." There are several habits that help healthcare pro- viders create successful, patient-focused organi- zations. "We are seeing the whole idea of patient- centered medical homes being applied outside of primary care practices, including anesthesia homes and surgical homes," Mr. Grundman says. "The ASCs could benefit from the concepts epito- mized in PCMHs in terms of developing a rela- tionship with patients, providing continuity and quality of care, and driving patient satisfaction." Here are 10 habits the most effective healthcare leaders have internalized for success. 1. Benchmark whenever possible. "Bench- marking is a great opportunity to see what others are doing and compare that to your own perfor- mance," says Mr. Grundman. "Figure out the best practices and incorporate them into your own practice. That's habit-forming." 2. Don't compromise quality to save costs. "There is a lot of pressure on ASC leaders because we are not getting increases in Medicare reim- bursement," says Mr. Grundman. "We have to pass that on to commercial payers, and they are shad- owing Medicare, so we have to wring the costs out. The highest costs after supplies are for labor and the temptation is to find substitutes like an aid or a technical nurse instead of a registered nurse. But that's the basis of the quality of care we provide." 3. Recognize your expertise and focus on doing it well. ASCs are coming to realize they can't be everything to everyone; multispecialty centers are catering to many different specialties, but might not do any one of them really well. "If you have come to the end of the line with sin- gle specialties adding any new procedures and the center wants to drive the revenue side by adding a new specialty, there may be a hidden cost on the efficiency side," says Mr. Grundman. "Sometimes 10 Habits of Highly-Effective ASC Providers By Laura Dyrda Ray Grundman SIMPLIFY your operations. The ASC industry's largest management companies and roughly 20,000 healthcare providers trust Surgical Notes to provide ASC specific, customer focused software solutions that eliminate manual processes, streamline workflow, and accelerate the revenue cycle. Simplify your business office with our superior, scalable products. Web-based transcription & management system Full-service coding & integrated coder platform ASC Chart automation & document management tool Central business office workflow automation tool Coming Soon...EHR designed for ASCs! To learn more, call (800) 459-5616, email sales@surgicalnotes.com, or visit www.surgicalnotes.com.