Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

17 Executive Briefing Surgical Directions LLC is a national consulting firm based in Chicago that assists hospitals in improving the operational, financial and market performance of perioperative and anesthesia services. Our consulting team is led by nationally-recognized, practicing anesthesiologists, surgeons, and surgical service professionals experienced in organizational design, block time, surgical scheduling, patient throughput, materials, staffing, strategic planning, and physician relations. Team members have successfully helped over 500 hospitals nationally increase surgical volume, improve clinical outcomes, improve surgeon satisfaction, improve anesthesia satisfaction, and enhance overall perioperative performance. leader in perioperative consulting offers or, central sterile leadership interim and permanent placements perioperative & anesthesia assessment · interim management 312.870.5600 www.SurgicalDirections.com STABILITY TRANSITION challenge of change leadership can be disruptive to any organization; critical forward improvements can be hampered or even stopped by the loss of At Surgical Directions, we believe finding the experienced your need is critical to making the transition to new leadership need support for current initiatives or to move in a new direction, professionals will help you meet your needs in a time of change. interim or permanent placement, we provide experienced, leaders. Our candidates are thoroughly screened and we match experience to meet the specific needs of your situation. Our proven make a seamless transition. interiM and perManent placeMents in: Services – Nursing Managers and Directors Services – Nurse Educators Services – Business Managers Processing Department – Managers and Directors provide you with leadership that will insure stability time of transition. during during receive their bill (or, more often, bills) including those from the hospital and those for professional fees and ancillary charges. Billing can really make or break satisfaction scores as it can leave the patient coming away feeling totally overwhelmed and confused. Why am I receiving a pathologist bill for laboratory tests? Why is there a separate radiologist and anesthesiologist bill? These types of questions, if left unresolved, can damage satisfaction scores. "Without the help of patient financial services integrated within the process, issues can arise and days in accounts receivable can be protracted. Patient advocacy is important to make the process as painless as possible. Dealing with billing can be daunting for patients," said Mr. Dahl. Discharge and beyond Once patients have begun healing and received their post-surgery care instructions, many hospitals have a nurse navigator help patients ensure compliance with recovery instructions. Post-surgical communication with a patient's family, skilled nursing facilities and the patient him or herself is a critical component of patient satisfaction scores. As more reimbursement is tied to value- or performance-based contracts with insurers, hospitals and ASCs alike have to pay more attention on post- discharge care to ensure patient satisfaction and treatment adherence and, ultimately, to prevent readmissions, reduce length of stay and reduce surgical site infections. Balancing the value-based equation will take all stakeholders' involvement. Already, organizations have begun experimenting and implementing different post-discharge care models — some of which are automated whereas others require key players such as nurses, care managers or office staff to follow-up with patients. Specific models, such as perioperative or surgical home models, focus caretakers' attention on performance objectives to reduce surgical site infections, length of stay and hospital readmissions. Bundled payments mandate oversight of the entire continuum of care to optimize patient outcomes. "The post-surgical communication is critical to how patients may respond to satisfaction surveys," says Mr. Dahl." Post-surgical calls to the patient the following day should include asking how they are feeling, if there are any symptoms, answering any questions that they may have and providing support and/or a referral if needed." "What matters most is the choreography of care that is consistently provided throughout the care continuum," he says. "A true market disrupter and point of differentiation that can create meaningful change in both patient satisfaction scores and market share is defining the patient experience from each department and service line, and devoting resources and tools to implement the patient care strategy."

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