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to the outpatient setting, and sicker patients are presenting, having put
off treatment longer due to higher deductibles and co-pays.
But profitability goes down as cases get bigger. They require more
(and more specialized) supplies, take longer in the OR and result in
less predictable PACU stays. It's not like doing tonsillectomies, ear
tubes and sinus reductions, which you can turn over quickly and time
practically to the minute. Carefully monitor case costs and times, and
determine whether Medicare, Medicaid or another payor makes cases
viable for your center.
Further, you must determine if bigger cases are safe. When the surgeon wants to do a combination of sinus, uvula and tonsil work, you
must consider the patient's disease states and ASA status before
green-lighting. We have very careful parameters set up for what's
acceptable in the ASC, but it can be helpful to remind surgeons and
their offices that cases that don't fit the criteria may be split into 2
procedures if you're to host them.
Stack the schedule
2 To keep procedures and turnover flowing in the surgery suite
and to strategically ease the burden on PACU staff, we stack like procedures. We do all ear tube procedures in a row, and those are organized by age. Same goes for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. That
way, beds will rotate quickly enough to keep up, and patients recovering from sinus surgery won't hold up the works.
D E C E M B E R 2012 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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