Pre-Conference Workshop: Financial management and key concepts for success

To be a leader today you must be competent to understand the drive of financials, says Brandon Bennett, DNP, APRN, CNOR, CNS-CP, CSSM, CNAMB, NE-BC, adding that “optimization is critical.” Bennett discussed the significance of understanding financial management in the OR in the pre-conference workshop on Sunday at the OR Business Management Conference. Using a Socratic method, he delved into several topics by engaging the audience with a question and answer format. 

The first portion of the workshop focused on preparation and management of budgets. "Revenues may be projected but not controlled,” Bennett highlighted as a key point during his presentation, adding that in order to properly prepare a budget, you must focus on controlling costs.  He provided an analysis of different budget types and methods, showing the importance of being able to understand the difference. Bennett also discussed performance metrics and variance analysis, emphasizing importance of being clear in defining metrics and to know how to explain any variance that is detected. 

The session also covered additional topics, such as:

• cost and revenue concepts
• elements of a pro forma
• inventory management
• contracts and legal terms
• environmental management
• key performance indicators
• service line structure and management
• healthcare laws
• and more.

Bennett concluded the workshop with the idea that evaluating financial performance is an organization-wide effort. The evolution of perioperative services from an acceptable revenue-producing department to the largest revenue source for an institution, has made financial management an essential skill for healthcare leaders and managers.  “Financial performance touches everyone in the department,” he noted, “bring yourselves forward because you are important.”