Kathie Stewart, administrator at Cascade Spine Center in Tualatin, Ore., discusses four ways the spine center is working to maintain profitability despite declining reimbursements.
1. Schedule staff members and procedures in an efficient manner. Closely monitoring when staff members and procedures are scheduled minimizes, if not entirely eliminates, down time between procedures and cuts out unnecessary staffing expenses.
"Each physician at our spine center has a template that's built into our practice management system, and those templates determine how many patients there will be in one hour and what procedures will be done so that we can efficiently move patients around," Ms. Stewart says. "There's no down time between patients, but it also allows enough time for procedures and keeps everyone on time."
2. Monitor and negotiate prices. Ms. Stewart says pricing on items she orders regularly for the spine center can change suddenly and drastically, which can cost the spine center a significant amount of money over the long-run if she doesn't keep a close eye on those price changes. She also pushes for better price points at higher volumes when negotiating with supply vendors.
"We buy the same things, like drapes, all the time, so I'm always pushing supply representatives to look at the volume we need and give me better tier pricing," she says. "Also, prices on certain items, such as IV sets, anesthetic or steroid drugs, can change quite dramatically. Prices can increase as much as $5 per vial for anesthetic drugs. Drapes, which we need to have for every single patient, can jump $1 more per unit. I always go to my vendor to see why the price change has happened and see if anyone can give us the same supply for a cheaper price."
3. Regulate inventory. By establishing a par level, or an estimated case volume, every month, Cascade is better able to anticipate what supplies will be needed on a regulate basis.
"Let's say we do 250 cases per month," Ms. Stewart says. "We'll want to have supplies on hand on a weekly basis to handle 250 bases per month. To establish a par level, we'll see how many cases are scheduled and order a little below that par level in case our volume is down or if we have a physician who's out. We order supplies to maintain that par level but not overstock."
4. Keep physicians informed. Involving and educating physicians about reimbursement rates and profit goals helps them make informed decisions.
"We educate physicians about reimbursement and keep them informed about new changes so they understand what procedures are costing and what reimbursement is not covering," Ms. Stewart says. "There are some things that they know we can be reimbursed for, like implants and neurostimulators. Every month we go over how much each case costs on average, and average nursing expenses and other financial figures."
Learn more about Cascade Spine Center.
1. Schedule staff members and procedures in an efficient manner. Closely monitoring when staff members and procedures are scheduled minimizes, if not entirely eliminates, down time between procedures and cuts out unnecessary staffing expenses.
"Each physician at our spine center has a template that's built into our practice management system, and those templates determine how many patients there will be in one hour and what procedures will be done so that we can efficiently move patients around," Ms. Stewart says. "There's no down time between patients, but it also allows enough time for procedures and keeps everyone on time."
2. Monitor and negotiate prices. Ms. Stewart says pricing on items she orders regularly for the spine center can change suddenly and drastically, which can cost the spine center a significant amount of money over the long-run if she doesn't keep a close eye on those price changes. She also pushes for better price points at higher volumes when negotiating with supply vendors.
"We buy the same things, like drapes, all the time, so I'm always pushing supply representatives to look at the volume we need and give me better tier pricing," she says. "Also, prices on certain items, such as IV sets, anesthetic or steroid drugs, can change quite dramatically. Prices can increase as much as $5 per vial for anesthetic drugs. Drapes, which we need to have for every single patient, can jump $1 more per unit. I always go to my vendor to see why the price change has happened and see if anyone can give us the same supply for a cheaper price."
3. Regulate inventory. By establishing a par level, or an estimated case volume, every month, Cascade is better able to anticipate what supplies will be needed on a regulate basis.
"Let's say we do 250 cases per month," Ms. Stewart says. "We'll want to have supplies on hand on a weekly basis to handle 250 bases per month. To establish a par level, we'll see how many cases are scheduled and order a little below that par level in case our volume is down or if we have a physician who's out. We order supplies to maintain that par level but not overstock."
4. Keep physicians informed. Involving and educating physicians about reimbursement rates and profit goals helps them make informed decisions.
"We educate physicians about reimbursement and keep them informed about new changes so they understand what procedures are costing and what reimbursement is not covering," Ms. Stewart says. "There are some things that they know we can be reimbursed for, like implants and neurostimulators. Every month we go over how much each case costs on average, and average nursing expenses and other financial figures."
Learn more about Cascade Spine Center.