The Business of Surgery Union membership has declined steeply in recent decades. Increasingly, organized labor is targeting the healthcare industry as a growth opportunity. This is creating a leadership challenge for OR directors and managers. In 2012, approximately 21% of hospitals in the US had a union nursing staff. That percentage could soon increase…
One way to shave the OR operating budget is to trim the supply spend, and for orthopedic service lines in particular, reining in costs related to implants can make a big impact. Some orthopedic service providers have achieved dramatic savings by adopting a “rep-less” model for certain procedures. At Loma…
Physician alignment is a key element of current hospital strategy. Last month, we looked at how hospital ORs can use co-management agreements to build strong collaboration with surgeons. Payment reform has created an even more sophisticated option—participation in a bundled payment program. Bundled payment initiatives are more complex than most…
Peak One Surgery Center in Frisco, Colorado, had a lucrative day this past October, when surgeons performed 14 procedures on local residents in the following specialties: orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, pain management, and gastroenterology. Their pay? A mountain of gratitude. Helping at home Frisco, population 2,683, is located in…
The percentage of healthcare facilities with a business manager has remained roughly the same over the past several years, and most tend to work in teaching hospitals, according to the 24th annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. However, business managers’ education and experience seem to vary widely, as do their areas…
Most hospitals are experimenting with ways to collaborate better with physicians. An alignment model that is particularly relevant for hospital ORs is the surgical services co-management agreement (CMA). Under a CMA, surgeons receive compensation for helping to manage a service line. Several leading ORs have used CMAs to engage surgeons…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) once again has extended the deadline to begin using International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) billing codes. Implementation has been set for October 1, 2015, and a growing number of billing, technology, and clinical specialists agree it is time to move ahead with…
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…
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…
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…
