Here are four ways ASCs can involve their physicians in cutting supply costs and contributing to the financial health of the center.
1. Make physicians aware of what everything costs. Lorraine Borrayo, director of nursing at Carillo Surgery Center in Santa Barbara, regularly talks to her ASC's physicians about pricing on supplies and lets them know about proposals for new equipment and supplies they may want to start using.
"They have preferences with certain supplies, so I really try to educate our surgeons and employees and point out that a cheaper alternative — such as certain sutures for shoulder rotator cuffs — from a different company is just as good as the model they want but it costs us this much less," she says. "So we really include our staff with pricing."
From: 10 Proven Strategies to Successfully Reduce ASC Supply Costs
2. Track supplies per case per physician regularly. According to Brian Brown, regional vice president of operations of Meridian Surgical Partners, ASC administrators should track supplies per case per physician by like procedures. If the ASC case costs those procedures and then shares that data with physicians — without the physician's name attached to the cost — the physicians will likely want to know how their peers achieve lower costs.
"For example, let's say you have three ophthalmologists in your ASC," he says. "You have one that's running about $400 in supplies per case, one that's $300 and one that's $550. If you put those figures in front of [the surgeons], they're going to figure out who is who very quickly. When they do that, they never want to be the highest cost physician; they don't want to be the one that's costing the partnership money unless it's a valid reason."
From: 5 Physician Statistics to Track and Benchmark
3. Prohibit sales representatives from entering the surgery suite. According to David Forquer, clinical strategist of enterprise solutions for Amerinet, facilities should take an aggressive role in prohibiting sales representatives from going into the surgery suite. If a rep is allowed to enter the surgery suite and talk to the physicians about the "latest and greatest" tools, the ASC administrator will find it much more difficult to overcome physician loyalty to particular brands or sway physicians away from buying expensive, new equipment.
From: Implant Costs: Why ASC-Physician Collaboration Makes Sense
4. Seek insight from physicians. By coming together and sharing insights, physicians at Greenspring Surgery Center in Baltimore help administrator Georganna Howell sift out necessary materials and supplies, as well as cutting costs and avoiding waste.
"We used to eight folded towels and three U-drapes in our shoulder packs, and [all the partner physicians] were looking at each other and asking why we have those in the pack," Ms. Howell says. "Both were foolish items, and we actually reduced the pack in half and in so doing reduced the price of the pack by 40 percent."
Mr. Forquer says physicians should be provided with relevant, actionable data on supply costs and value. "Once physicians see this type of data, and especially if they have a stake in the ownership of your facility, they will engage the suppliers in getting those costs lowered," he says.
From: 3 Tips on Cutting ASC Supplies and Materials Costs
1. Make physicians aware of what everything costs. Lorraine Borrayo, director of nursing at Carillo Surgery Center in Santa Barbara, regularly talks to her ASC's physicians about pricing on supplies and lets them know about proposals for new equipment and supplies they may want to start using.
"They have preferences with certain supplies, so I really try to educate our surgeons and employees and point out that a cheaper alternative — such as certain sutures for shoulder rotator cuffs — from a different company is just as good as the model they want but it costs us this much less," she says. "So we really include our staff with pricing."
From: 10 Proven Strategies to Successfully Reduce ASC Supply Costs
2. Track supplies per case per physician regularly. According to Brian Brown, regional vice president of operations of Meridian Surgical Partners, ASC administrators should track supplies per case per physician by like procedures. If the ASC case costs those procedures and then shares that data with physicians — without the physician's name attached to the cost — the physicians will likely want to know how their peers achieve lower costs.
"For example, let's say you have three ophthalmologists in your ASC," he says. "You have one that's running about $400 in supplies per case, one that's $300 and one that's $550. If you put those figures in front of [the surgeons], they're going to figure out who is who very quickly. When they do that, they never want to be the highest cost physician; they don't want to be the one that's costing the partnership money unless it's a valid reason."
From: 5 Physician Statistics to Track and Benchmark
3. Prohibit sales representatives from entering the surgery suite. According to David Forquer, clinical strategist of enterprise solutions for Amerinet, facilities should take an aggressive role in prohibiting sales representatives from going into the surgery suite. If a rep is allowed to enter the surgery suite and talk to the physicians about the "latest and greatest" tools, the ASC administrator will find it much more difficult to overcome physician loyalty to particular brands or sway physicians away from buying expensive, new equipment.
From: Implant Costs: Why ASC-Physician Collaboration Makes Sense
4. Seek insight from physicians. By coming together and sharing insights, physicians at Greenspring Surgery Center in Baltimore help administrator Georganna Howell sift out necessary materials and supplies, as well as cutting costs and avoiding waste.
"We used to eight folded towels and three U-drapes in our shoulder packs, and [all the partner physicians] were looking at each other and asking why we have those in the pack," Ms. Howell says. "Both were foolish items, and we actually reduced the pack in half and in so doing reduced the price of the pack by 40 percent."
Mr. Forquer says physicians should be provided with relevant, actionable data on supply costs and value. "Once physicians see this type of data, and especially if they have a stake in the ownership of your facility, they will engage the suppliers in getting those costs lowered," he says.
From: 3 Tips on Cutting ASC Supplies and Materials Costs