Individual health insurance coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect a year ago. Whether that has helped or hindered patients is unclear. Similarly, the jury is still out on the ACA’s long-term effects for healthcare providers. A recent report from Moody's Investors Service paints a bleak…

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As implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues, OR leaders are looking ahead and finding the view murky. “I think every organization is struggling because our crystal ball is not very clear as to what is coming,” says Donna Doyle, MS, RN, NE-BC, CNOR, administrative director for surgery and…

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Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) in several states recently ratcheted up their documentation requirements for joint replacement surgery and other orthopedic procedures. For hospital ORs, these changes represent the tip of an iceberg that calls for careful navigation. Enhanced medical necessity documentation requirements were launched in Florida in 2011. The state’s…

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When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, many ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders viewed it with optimism because it requires everyone to have health insurance unless they choose to pay a penalty. “We thought this would be a very positive thing because we would see an increase…

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Total joint arthroplasty volumes have ballooned in the last two decades, and reimbursement has not kept pace with costs. Rising implant prices are a major driver of hospital spending on these procedures. As the aging US population creates growing demand for joint replacement, controlling implant costs is becoming a top…

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Most OR leaders use performance reports to inform and guide critical decisions. The problem is that in most hospitals, the data used to create these reports are not reliable. Why? Even the smallest surgery department is too complex for the most sophisticated OR data solution. To yield reliable reports, information…

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Aligning employees with organizational goals is a challenge in any industry. In a hospital OR, staff alignment is important because it can affect everything from efficiency and costs to clinical quality and patient outcomes. Directors face many common obstacles to focusing staff on OR business goals. In some hospitals, differences…

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In many surgery departments, schedule management is a daily struggle. Staff work hard to manage case requests, juggle resources, and respond to changes, but errors, inefficiencies, and general frustration persist. The results are frequent case delays and cancellations, low utilization, high costs, low staff morale, and poor surgeon satisfaction. The…

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Loopholes in supply contracts can wreak havoc with a supply budget, but attention to detail and proper terminology can help OR managers take charge instead of being charged unnecessary fees. “Not managing your agreement will cost you 12% to 25% of the spend or 100% of any savings achieved,” Girard…

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Anxiety over changes in healthcare delivery and payment systems has permeated hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Administrators are concerned about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other initiatives will hit the organization’s bottom line. Increasingly, perioperative services leaders are being drawn into discussions in these areas. “The OR…

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