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/873929
6 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 HONORABLE MENTIONS Here's to a Healthy Revenue Cycle • Service-line dinners with surgeons. What better way to get sur- geons to focus on reducing supply and implant costs than to take them to dinner? Houston Physicians' Hospital in Webster, Texas, hosts service-line dinners to "re-engage surgeons of all specialties to issues of cost savings and efficiencies," says Patricia Ford, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer. "At these dinners, we compare like cases across all surgeons and suggest cost-savings opportunities, such as switching from a $90 radiation glove to a $30 one. Addressing the surgeons as a group allows for collaboration. Some surgeons influence their peers to try an alternative that results in reduced supply and implant costs." • Eye on the bottom line. The Eye Center of Columbus (Ohio) uses a "ranking" tool to encourage surgeons to be more fiscally responsible. Starting last year, the center began distributing a chart to all surgeons showing how their average costs per case stack up against those of their peers. It's anonymous, with each surgeon assigned a letter rather than having his or her name posted, so there's no "shaming" involved. The tool has gotten sur- geons more focused on cost containment, says Roger Alban, RN, BSN, the center's nurse manager. In addition, the facility posts a list of commonly used items and their respective costs in each OR. The list acts as a handy reference to further encourage sur- geons and staff to consider how their decisions influence the bot- tom line. • Collecting from patients at check-in. Not long ago, patients at the Andrews Institute ASC in Gulf Breeze, Fla., were allowed to pay "what they could" of their copays and coinsurance on the day of