The Business of Surgery The inaugural Best in OR Business Award will be presented at the 2017 OR Business Management Conference in New Orleans on February 1. The award recognizes an individual who demonstrates strong business acumen with the ability to make complex logistical decisions, meet scheduling demands, think strategically, and focus on the bottom line.…
With no increases in reimbursement on the healthcare horizon, the leadership team at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, knew they needed to maximize revenue capture. The team, including Katrina Spears, MAOL, manager of business and informatics, used Lean methodology to improve precertification and reduce denials, resulting in…
An ambulatory surgery center (ASC) looking to expand its market may want to add new procedures, but only after careful consideration of resource investment versus ultimate benefit. In the first of a three-part series, OR Manager explores surgical specialties that appear to show promise for the outpatient setting. One of…
Surgical site infections (SSIs) not only harm patients, but also can squeeze a hospital’s bottom line through increased costs and reduced reimbursement. Patients undergoing colorectal surgery are particularly at risk for SSIs, according to data from the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), but an effective multidisciplinary team and an evidence-based…
Increasing costs and shrinking margins have continued to pressure business managers and senior hospital leadership to rethink strategies for raising surgeons’ awareness of product and nonlabor costs within the OR. Often providers are asked to cut costs but are unaware of the actual costs of the products they use. In…
Like a football team gathering to confirm tactical details before a play, surgical staff often form a huddle to ensure readiness of the providers, patient, and equipment for the upcoming procedure. In a twist on the traditional huddle the day before surgery, staff at the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC)…
Trends such as bundled payment models, adding service lines, and increased competition among providers are just some of the challenges facing today’s OR business leaders. Year over year growth of the annual OR Business Management Conference attests to the need for expert advice on the increasingly complex world of budgets,…
Recent developments, including the push to outpatient services, increased consumer engagement, and a focus on outcomes, have made ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) well positioned in the healthcare marketplace. But as with any marketplace, it takes bold thinking and thoughtful strategy to ensure an ASC stands out to consumers, physicians, and…
OR leaders face an increasing number of stresses, ranging from pressure to trim already lean budgets to searching for staff who could potentially replace them as they contemplate retirement. At the same time, OR leaders’ salaries remain flat, according to results from the 2016 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. Respondents…
Government and third-party payers are pushing for value-based, rather than volume-based, models of care, yet few hospitals are moving that direction, a survey shows. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that half of hospitals’ payments be value based by 2018, according to a 2016 Health Catalyst survey…
