Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/568943
work 30 hours a week. Since employees work 10-hour days, staff can pick up extra hours and work a 4 th day if the schedule calls for it, without eating into overtime. "They still receive the benefits that a 40- hour worker would, and it gives us those 10 hours as a cushion," says Ms. Natal. "It keeps expectations reasonable and makes room for those low-census days." Supply costs in check Supply inventory is an area where costs can add up quickly without a watchful eye. At Rockford, Ms. Natal uses a few simple approaches to keep her supply costs in check. Finding a way to follow where the money is going is essential, says Ms. Natal. At first, she says Rockford struggled with tracking vendor costs, which led to spikes and drops that no one could account for. But now, Ms. Natal says she uses a simple Excel spreadsheet to track price fluctuations and keep managers accountable. The spreadsheet lists all of the center's vendors and costs each month. At the end of the month, the center's accounts payable department goes through the sheet and inputs the total costs paid out to each vendor. If there's a dramatic change from one month to the next, the manager who deals with that vendor is on the hook to explain why. "I might stop by that manager's office and say, 'Hey, I noticed XYZ Vendor's costs have gone up. Why?'" she says. "She may know right off the bat or she may have to dig in to find out why. Sometimes it's something as simple as she's going on vacation so she ordered an extra week's worth." Not only does this system track costs, it also helps the center save. For example, if there's a medication shortage that means prices are increasing, the center looks to the spreadsheet to find other areas to pare down to make up the difference. "Since starting the spreadsheet, 5 4 O U T P A T 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 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 O R E X C E L L E N C E AWA R D S O R E X C E L L E N C E AWA R D S