OR Business
Comprehensive dashboards paint a fuller picture of OR performance
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Data-rich dashboards are an effective way to communicate with surgeons and align them with OR goals, but many reporting strategies have not kept pace with changes in the surgery market.…
ASCs seek efficiencies to offset decline in reimbursement
About 70% of respondents to a nationwide survey of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) say they are trying to cut costs in reaction to changes brought about by healthcare reform. That’s the major finding of a nationwide survey of 359 administrators, directors, and office managers in ASCs, cancer centers, home health…
High labor expenses? Better staffing and scheduling can cut costs
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. The OR labor budget usually takes a back seat to supplies and equipment. But labor costs can still create significant spending problems. Many hospital surgery departments use nursing full-time equivalents…
Editorial
Data on inpatient and outpatient hospital charges released in May and June by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have fueled the fire started in March with Steven Brill’s Time magazine cover story, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.” Brill cited sometimes staggering amounts charged for…
Collaborate with surgeons and vendors to control high-end supply costs
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Surgical supplies are a major component of OR expenses. In the July issue of OR Manager, we showed how controlling spending on low- and mid-priced supplies can reduce overall costs.…
Diligence in coding and charge capture will help prevent revenue loss
With the evolving nature of health care regulations, accurately capturing revenue can be a challenging process for all hospitals. At the OR Business Managers Workshop in April, key concepts about hospital billing, coding, and reimbursement were clarified by revenue expert Keith Siddel, JD, MBA, an attorney with HBL Concepts LLC,…
Can your OR documentation stand up to a RAC audit?
A column on managing the OR revenue cycle. Audits of Medicare payments to hospitals are up dramatically. In all, 89% of hospitals reported activity by recovery audit contractors (RACs) in the third quarter of 2012, according to an American Hospital Association (AHA) survey. Here are tips on how your OR…
Taking small steps to control supply costs yields a much better bottom line
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Surgical supplies are a major cost category for hospital ORs. Depending on the specialty and the procedure, supplies may represent 50% or more of total costs per case. Unfortunately, new…
Surgical growth hinges on good service line information
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. Does your hospital’s CEO expect you to grow surgical volume in the upcoming fiscal year? Hospitals have always depended on surgical services to drive revenue and profit. Today, in the…
The right strategies can help increase OR utilization
OR Business Performance is a series intended to help OR managers and directors improve the success of their business. How do you improve an OR’s financial performance? Last month’s column focused on two key strategies: using data to identify improvement opportunities and rallying support for organizational change. These strategies…
Free Daily News
- Study: ERAS protocol reduces opioid use after cardiac surgery
- Study: Prehabilitation reduces surgical complications, speeds recovery
- Commentary: Studies show how surgeon decisions follow the money
- Proposed HIPAA updates would improve cybersecurity, increase costs for healthcare providers
- Study: EMR data can enhance hand hygiene compliance, infection prevention
- Study: Machine learning model improves perioperative pain assessment
- Call for improved suicide risk screening in ASCs aims to strengthen safety protocols
- Study: Perioperative pregabalin reduces risk of kidney decline compared to gabapentin
- Medical school diversity declines after Supreme Court ruling
- Surgeons risk losing ground as transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions rise