The Business of Surgery Many OR directors struggle with designing effective nurse compensation systems. The ideal system would achieve department goals while maintaining nurse satisfaction. Unfortunately, a compensation plan that links these 2 objectives is often elusive. In 2012, OR leadership at a small Pennsylvania hospital developed a compensation system that effectively aligns nursing…
The primary function of an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is simple and easily described: to perform surgery for which patients can be discharged within 24 hours, to do this efficiently, safely, and cost effectively, and to collect adequate, timely payment. The path to achieving these results is not so simple.…
More than $150 billion is spent annually on medical devices in the United States, with orthopedic and cardiac procedures accounting for almost all of Medicare’s device-related expenditures. Most of the recent increases in such expenditures have been related to the wider use of orthopedic devices, which is expected to grow…
Among the challenges facing OR leaders everywhere are declining payment in tandem with rising costs, increased quality and patient satisfaction requirements, and the ongoing struggle to manage relations with surgeons. When it comes to tackling these issues, many OR directors do not realize they have a powerful natural ally—the anesthesiology…
Maintaining a strong relationship with the hospital CEO has always been important for an OR leader. In the coming year, good relations with the executive suite will be critical. Hospital executives are under greater pressure now than at any time in the last 30 years. Changes in the healthcare market…
The upcoming OR Business Management Conference provides a timely opportunity for OR business managers and surgical services directors to learn what they can do to optimize their hospitals’ resources—especially in the current climate of ever-tighter budgets and reimbursement concerns. The conference, which will be held February 11-13, 2014, at the…
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Better-performing surgery departments have always paid careful attention to the patient experience. Today, payment reform and market evolution are making patient satisfaction in an OR more important than ever. Patient…
Group purchasing has long been a tradition for hospitals. Now ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are beginning to adopt the practice, and the reason is simple: Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are noticing their needs and recruiting them as members. “We are evolving services,” explains Randy Piper, vice president of nonacute contracting…
When OR Manager examined vendor credentialing in 2009, hospitals had a hodgepodge of requirements. OR managers and purchasing departments were making their first forays into third-party software for managing credentialing, and there was a crying need for standardization. Four years later, progress has been made in developing credentialing standards, and…
An innovative program at The University of Kansas Hospital (TUKH), Kansas City, for managing vendor partnerships has saved the hospital $1.9 million in just 8 months of operation. “We’ve found that pricing and inventory management requires key partnerships with suppliers,” says Brian Dolan, MHSA, CMRP, RHIA, CHDA, SSGB, director of…
