Becker's ASC Review

53 13th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine – Call (800) 417-2035 T here are a number of options for obtaining the best price for ortho- pedic devices and implants, says Jebby Mathew, director of opera- tions at The Orthopaedic and Spine Center of Southern Colorado in Colorado Springs, a PINNACLE III managed facility. "When the center is a physician-owned organization, there are plenty of op- portunities to talk to physicians to ascertain which supplies they are using and why," he says. Securing the backing of your physicians, and even including them in your conversations with vendors, is important, says Holly LeRoux, MS, RN, direc- tor of operations for PINNACLE III at Boulder (Colo.) Community Mus- culoskeletal Surgery Center. "Having physicians present at vendor meetings and being willing to switch vendors if the discussion is unproductive can be powerful. Physician backing can help bring prices down." Here are seven key strategies to slash costs for orthopedic preference items. 1. Know the cost-per-case for all procedures. ASC administrators who want to cut orthopedic supply costs first need to have a detailed under- standing of all case costs. "I look at the procedure code(s) as well as the cor- responding supply and staff costs related to each case type," says Mr. Mathew. 2. Get physicians on-board. This is a basic, yet powerful tool, to reduce supply costs. Physicians determine the purchase of implants and devices in accordance with the type of procedure being performed and their comfort level with varying products. Thus, switching to different and more cost-ef- fective supplies requires physician buy-in. "I sit down with every physician," says Sasha Meyer, RN, MSN, clinical di- rector at Orthopaedic and Spine Center of Southern Colorado. "We review reimbursement versus implant cost data and then allow physicians to make the best decision related to optimal patient outcomes." Preparing implant cost and reimbursement data before talking to physicians is key, Ms. Meyer adds. Go into the conversation with information regarding reimbursement and implant options as well as best and worst case scenarios for using one product versus another. 3. Avoid overstocking. According to Cicily Wilson, materials manager at Boulder Community Musculoskeletal Surgery Center, a common mistake surgery centers make is overstocking during shortages or supply crises. ASC administrators and materials managers need to be able to maneuver through different systems and sets of information to keep tabs on stock and prices. This will allow them to make evidence-based decisions regarding how many supplies they need to order. "Pace yourself as best you can when it comes to ordering supplies," says Ms. Wilson. 4. Appoint a materials manager you can trust. Appoint the right em- ployee to the role of materials manager. "An administrator can keep a pulse on supply chain management but you need someone looking into the supply chain regularly. You need someone you can trust and who is passionate about keeping costs low," says Mr. Mathew. 5. Engage in reprocessing. Ms. LeRoux suggests looking for opportuni- ties to reprocess single-use medical supplies for orthopedic and other proce- dures. Actively looking for reprocessing opportunities can help reduce supply costs significantly. 6. Keep preference cards up-to-date. Physician preference cards do more harm than good if they are not regularly updated. According to Mr. Mathew, updated preference cards not only let staff know what is needed in the operating room for each procedure, they help staff members avoid open- ing unnecessary supplies. 7. Instill a culture of collaboration. Keeping orthopedic supply costs low requires a collaborative effort at a surgery center. "Everyone — the ad- ministrator, the materials manager, the physicians — has to engage in the effort to contain costs," says Ms. LeRoux. "You must promote a culture that is willing to actively look for ways to be cost-effective." n Slashing Supply Costs With Orthopedic Preference Items — 7 Strategies By Anuja Vaidya AAAHC IQI Names Dr. Thomas James III, Donna Read Norton to Board By Laura Dyrda T he Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care In- stitute for Quality Improvement named a health plan execu- tive and a surgery center veteran to its 2015 board of trustees. The board elected Thomas James III, MD, corporate medical director of health policy at AmeriHealth in Philadelphia and acting chief medi- cal officer of the northern region, to the board. The board also elected Donna Read Norton, RN, MS, an experienced ambulatory surgery center leader, to the board. Here are five things to know about Dr. James and Ms. Norton: 1. Dr. James oversees the development of AmeriHealth Caritas' clinical policies and serves as chair of the company's corporate medical policy committee. 2. Dr. James was previously the corporate medical direct of National Network Operations at Humana, where he had expertise in quality and efficiency. 3. Ms. Norton served as the administrator of ambulatory surgery cen- ters in four different states: Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin. 4. Ms. Norton received her master's of science from the University of Cardinal Stritch in Milwaukee and received quality improvement awards for her expertise in leading surgery centers to meet quality standards. 5. The two new board members joined the 15-member board com- prised of individuals with a diverse experience in ambulatory health- care quality improvement and directs ambulatory health care facility improvement tools, like benchmarking studies and reports as well as patient safety toolkits. n

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