Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Game Changers in Surgery - June 2018 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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J U N E 2 0 1 8 • O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 9 W hen more than 100 surgery center directors were recently asked this question, the responses included "Money" as well as "Reputation" and "Referring physicians." Our favorite response was "the staff here at the Surgery Center." When respondents were told that in-depth conversations with hundreds of surgeons uncovered that the most valued resource they identified turned out to be their TIME, no one seemed surprised: "A primary motivation for utilizing our center comes down to a more efficient use of their time," said one administrator. Another pointed out that "it's just another way of saying that time is money." A third quoted one of her pain management physicians as saying "I complete three times the procedures at the ASC compared to the hospital in the same time… and without risking my procedures being bumped or not set up the way I want." "…the most valued commodity turned out to be their TIME!" Current discussions about the implementation of EHRs in surgical centers also led back to the discussion of surgeons' time. Comments such as "the 2 different EHRs I am forced to use at my office and the hospital are both a huge time suck for me. I refuse to learn a third EHR system at the surgery center…" became a common theme. One surgeon commented "The ASC is my last bastion where I do not have to go anywhere near the computer to document my patient's care." Another chimed in "You could not pay me enough to use an EHR at the surgery center – I would move to another facility." These comments took our investigators back to the value of a surgeon's time… but also raised the specter of what the future will bring. Many mentioned the growing need to ensure that the surgeons' documentation meets all the needs of coding, compliance, liability mitigation, and outcomes analytics to attract high acuity cases. "The physician offices are going to need improved data from our surgery center to deal with MIPS, MACRA, and our shared need to better document efficacy and outcomes." Virtually every answer given to the query of "what is most important to the surgeons…" whether money, reputation, liability, or case flow—all tied back directly or indirectly to the need for creating higher quality documentation while still finding a way to respect the surgeon's highest priority (time) and their highest talent (not data entry!). Frequently mentioned by staff at facilities utilizing Command Health is the enthusiasm their surgeons express for how much TIME they save. Equally important were staff comments on the time and hassle they saved by being able to reach the surgeons at any time through the schedule display, case alerts, and built in secure messaging already tied to each case, patient, or document… and ultimately the time saved on getting each case documented, signed, and coded since their surgeons now review and sign documentation within 2-3 hours and resolve any other issues from anywhere on their mobile device. Bottom line, surgeons aren't the only ones who highly value their time! Sponsored by SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT What is your surgeons' most valued resource?

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