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IDEAS THAT WORK
ulers stay engaged and won't discard our fax without reviewing.
• Face-to-face. We try to stop in the offices for a face-to-face
encounter with owner-surgeons' schedulers to build on the relationship between our center and the offices. We often deliver a small bag
of candy and try to make it festive by incorporating a holiday. For
non-owner surgeons, we hold monthly face-to-face meetings with
their schedulers to discuss available block times. We also accommodate schedulers by allowing orders, histories and physicals to be
faxed to us 24 to 48 hours before surgery — a real convenience, especially if your competitors require orders and histories and physicals at
the time of scheduling.
Annually, we host a lunch for schedulers to thank them and get
feedback on how we can ease the process. This keeps the door of
communication open to maintain excellent relationships with schedulers and physicians.
Remember, physicians' offices are often chaotic. The more you
accommodate their staffs, the more cases you're likely to receive
from their offices.
Brooke A. Day, BS
Hastings Surgical Center
West Hastings, Neb.
bday@nueterra.org
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