Blog: Creating Sustainable Value for Hospitals & ASCs in a Consumer-Driven World
How the right anesthesia partner helps hospitals do more with less
By Peter Doerner, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, NAPA
It’s a challenging time to be running a health system. After preparing for the value-based payment movement associated with healthcare reform, hospital executives now find themselves caught in a legislative standstill, wondering how the 2020 national, state, and local elections will impact their markets, as well as the industry as a whole. Until then they must continue to manage current high expense structures with shifts in volume and payer mix, while consumers—many wrestling with high deductible health insurance plans—increasingly delay non-emergent procedures and take greater control of where and how they purchase healthcare services.
For hospitals and ASCs facing declines in volume and reimbursements, thriving in this uncertain era means learning how to do more with less. In a market that still remains largely fee-for-service, maximizing return on investment (ROI) requires leveraging evidence-based operational efficiencies that won’t compromise safety or the overall quality of the patient experience with possible new service lines—such as pain management—that differentiate brands and build customer loyalty.
Since the operating room (OR) is the hospital’s engine, generally driving 60% of revenue, the anesthesia department is uniquely and perioperatively positioned to enhance value in tangible ways—from optimizing presurgical assessment testing and OR throughput; to instituting data-driven safety protocols and care team models; to enhancing patient satisfaction with high quality, empathetic care; to managing pain in and beyond the recovery room (PACU). Interacting with patients and clinical colleagues at multiple points in the care continuum, anesthesia clinicians have the ability to impact reduced readmissions and improve patient outcomes, solve problems between stakeholders, and create a better working environment for all the caregivers in the OR. With the right support and skills, anesthesia physicians and CRNAs can be true partners to a hospital’s C-suite and make meaningful contributions that improve financial performance.
As a clinician-led anesthesia practice management partner, North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) has long recognized that strong Anesthesia leadership can be transformative for a hospital’s culture and bottom line. While surgical settings are environments in which patient safety and high satisfaction scores are mandatory, OR efficiency is also critical to sustainability: freeing an hour in each OR every day can potentially help a hospital save millions of dollars a year. Thus, to create superior settings for both our patients and partners, NAPA’s anesthesia leaders are trained to provide outstanding clinical and business results for the hundreds of facilities we now serve.
In just the past six years, NAPA has completed more than 130 practice management transitions, embracing many incumbent anesthesia clinicians and empowering them to raise the bar in supporting the goals of their hospitals and ASCs. Although we don’t know what the next election cycle will bring, we do know that to thrive now, health systems need real partners who bring tools, expertise, and commitment to the patient experience, as well as to achieving institutional objectives. Our partners rely on NAPA’s anesthesia leadership, infrastructure, and innovative technology to delight patients, think strategically, drive surgeon and anesthesia clinician satisfaction, and inspire a patient-first culture that wins all stakeholders’ hearts and minds.
For hospitals and ASCs facing declines in volume and reimbursements, thriving in this uncertain era means learning how to do more with less. Share on X