the financial risk of paying
for the care of patients who
suffer post-op complications.
Consulting companies can
help limit the risk. Dr. Barnes
or one of his colleagues
receives calls from concerned
patients during daytime
hours, while the company
they work with fields all after-
hour calls and instructs
patients on how to handle
minor issues or alerts one of
the surgeons if health con-
cerns need to be addressed
immediately.
That 24-hour on-call service
eliminates unnecessary emer-
gency room visits for treat-
ment of non-emergent issues
that can lead to avoidable
readmissions, which ruin quality data and take large chunks out prof-
its out of bundled payments.
4. Standardized protocols
When Dr. Hungerford joined Mercy Medical, he discovered that an indi-
vidual surgeon's patients might be treated according to 6 different order
sets, some of which were years old. Reps from the consulting company
the hospital partnered with stepped in to help standardize the process-
A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 6 9
• OPEN ACCESS Analyzing clinical outcomes data lets you identify
areas of needed improvement and focus on implementing effective
solutions.
