Billing Optimization
The Foundation of Improving Anesthesia Financial Performance
Whether you are a hospital paying an anesthesia subsidy or a group trying to maximize profitability, it is in your best interest to monitor and optimize anesthesia revenue realized from payers and patients.
Anesthesia Finances in the Age of COVID-19
PART 1 – Impact of Maintaining Existing Subsidy Structures
Subsides may be structured in many ways, the most common being fixed stipends and revenue guarantees. Each structure has pros and cons, but in a sudden financial upheaval caused by COVID-19, hospitals or anesthesia groups will be significantly harmed depending on the structure chosen.
Anesthesia Finances in the Age of COVID-19
Part 2 - Impact of Common Early Responses
Our objective for this installment of our series is to model the impact of several examples of these changes on anesthesia group finances. As we did previously, in order to demonstrate the impact in various scenarios, our example will use a group staffing 10 locations, with three distinct staffing models.
Anesthesia Finances in the Age of COVID-19
Part 3 - Impact of Responses on Post Virus Performance
While our focus in the previous models was on the immediate financial impact on both contracted entities, this installment will attempt to analyze the impact on facility finances in the first few months after the virus threat has stabilized to the point where elective surgical cases are able to resume.
Your Hospital Issues An RFP For Anesthesia Services: Now What?
When hospitals seek alternatives to their existing anesthesia group
As a national anesthesia consulting firm, we are seeing hospitals and healthcare systems change or attempt to change their incumbent anesthesia groups with increasing frequency.
Anesthesia Finances in the Age of COVID-19
Part 4 - The Journey After COVID-19
In Part 4 of our series, we will now consider the likely New Normal in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 and explore a number of reasons why that sudden surge in volume and revenue may not materialize in the manner anticipated.
The 5 C’s of Group Leadership
Key to Successful Hospital-Based Physician Leadership
Hospital-based provider groups are a vital bridge between the business leaders of the facility and its medical staff. Hospital executives frequently cite a lack of leadership as a limiting factor in the performance of their facility-based groups.
Anesthesia Finances in the Age of COVID-19
Full Series
Our four-part series on the financial and operational implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitals, healthcare systems and anesthesia groups.
Management Services Organizations: Leveling the Playing Field for Small and Local Groups
Leveling the Playing Field for Small and Local Groups
In the Healthcare environment of 2018, it seems that "bigger is better" is the mantra from all sides. We've got hospital systems consolidating, huge insurers combining, giant national provider groups forming...
6 Steps for Anesthesia Practices Considering Selling
Steps to follow when deciding whether to sell one's anesthesia practice
Howard Greenfield, MD, principal of management and consulting firm Enhance Healthcare, described several steps to follow when deciding whether to sell one's anesthesia practice.
What Do Hospitals Want From Anesthesia Groups?
Hospitals' Top 10 Expectations of Anesthesia Groups
Anesthesia groups have many issues to deal with, including pressure on reimbursement and hospital subsidies. Despite these concerns, it is important to remember that for many groups, their key asset is their hospital contract.
Uncovering Key Data Points To Improve Or Profitability
EHC's data analysis targets areas for performance improvement in the operating room (OR)
Hospital finance leaders can increase profit from operating rooms by developing performance improvement plans around key statistics, such as utilization, delays, and unique morning starts.
4 Ways Anesthesia Can Help Hospitals Reach Health Reform Goals
Two of the main goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are to increase quality and lower costs.
Here are four examples of ways anesthesia providers can help hospitals reach these goals.
F-O-C-U-S: 5 Key Factors of Anesthesia Success
The benefits and challenges of a co-managed anesthesia model
Drs. Greenfield and Stiefel present a new framework hospitals can use when thinking about anesthesia services.
Physicians’ Role in Patient Satisfaction
Physicians play a large role in patient satisfaction.
Anesthesiologists can affect patients' satisfaction by overseeing preoperative preparation, ensuring the patient understands the process for the day of surgery and managing postoperative pain.
How Preoperative Preparation Can Drive OR Performance
One way to make the OR more efficient is to focus on preoperative functions
Some key preoperative responsibilities that can improve intraoperative metrics, including start times, turnover time and OR utilization
Anesthesia 101: Coverage Models
On average, the OR generates 70% of a hospital’s total revenue. Healthcare leaders are looking to optimize this profit center
Knowing your options, as well as understanding your needs, will help you choose the model that is best for your hospital, your surgical staff and your community.
Anesthesia 101: Service Expectations
Understanding which anesthesia model is right for your facility
Hospitals have specific goals regarding patient and surgeon satisfaction as well as growth initiatives. Your facility's anesthesia model should help you meet those goals.
Anesthesia 101: Subspecialty Needs
Is your hospital’s current anesthesia coverage effective and efficient or should you explore an alternative model?
Critical care. OB. Pain. Cardiovascular. Pediatric. Anesthesia sub-specialties have evolved to address an often complex and challenging subset of patients. Each come with their own set of needs.
Anesthesia 101: Stakeholder Needs
Anesthesia services must be considered from the viewpoint of multiple stakeholders
The needs of each of these stakeholders are diverse and when taken together, serve as a way to measure the affect of an anesthesia model on the health of the overall facility.
Anesthesia 101: Business Models
Healthcare has changed. And so have anesthesia business models
The healthcare environment has dramatically changed in recent years, and anesthesia business models are evolving as well. If current trends hold, three types of business models will emerge as the industry standard.
Anesthesia 101: Anesthesia Subsidy Drivers
Anesthesia subsidies often cost hospitals millions of dollars.
With eighty percent of hospitals paying an anesthesia subsidy, finding ways to reduce these costs – without risking quality – is critical, while supply-demand imbalances dramatically drive up subsidy requirements.
Pre-Op Your Anesthesia Practice
More anesthesia groups than ever are about to undergo the business equivalent of an invasive procedure
A “pre-operative” assessment of your own practice will reveal how your group will look to a possible partner, investor or employer before your group is in the middle of negotiations with another entity.
The Changing Landscape Of the RFP
As advisors to both provider groups and hospitals, EHC has been involved in over 50 RFP’s in the last 20 years
Enhance Healthcare Consulting has seen approximately a fivefold increase in the issuance of RFP’s, with 30% of hospital based RFP processes resulting in a provider change.
‘Get Big Fast’ Multispecialty Outsourcing Expert Warns Radiology Of Things To Come
Change is coming to radiology in ways the profession could not have anticipated
The forces driving the change are many, but one common denominator has emerged: hospitals under intense pressure to perform in order to survive.
Strategy And Adaptability In A Competitive Market: Lessons From The Nation’s Largest Anesthesia Organizations
As of April 2017, eight entities employed more than 22 percent of all anesthesia providers in the United States.
The size and scope of these entities could not have been envisioned just a decade ago. The entities profiled below represent those that, for the time being, appear to have successfully positioned themselves in the new market.
Renegotiated Payor Contracts And Improved Collections Significantly Boost Anesthesia Revenue
The CFO hired Enhance to help the health system optimize its revenue cycle.
Due to lack of oversight of the anesthesia revenue cycle, this small Southwestern health system suspected it was not capturing all professional fee revenue, and wanted more accurate and timely financial reporting.
Enhance Healthcare Releases Recent Anesthesia Survey Results
An inside look into how and why hospitals seek new anesthesia providers.
The RFP process has become much more standardized, and the options for change more robust, while at the same time the financial and operational imperative for change has escalated.
Leadership And Technology Enhancements Allow Cost-Effective Expansion Of Coverage
Our assessment uncovered an inefficient scheduling system and a lack of anesthesia leadership within the system.
A tertiary care facility in the South, part of a four hospital system needed to improve coverage amongst all its facilities without incurring a substantial increase in cost.
Improved Revenue Cycle Solution Increases Collections By 37% And Reduces Subsidy
EHC's anesthesia-specific analysis verified that the anesthesia revenue cycle was not optimized.
SITUATION: Three years in a row the amount of subsidy had increased – 15%, 12% and 20% respectively – despite the fact that their coverage requirements had not changed.
EHC STAFFING STRATEGY REDUCES ANESTHESIA SUBSIDIES BY 40%
An inside look at Enhance Healthcare's approach
SITUATION: An important Surgical Service Line expansion forced a West Coast community hospital to face a dramatic increase in anesthesia costs that threatened its financial viability.
EHC OR/ER STRATEGY SAVES COMMUNITY HOSPITAL $1 MILLION ANNUALLY
Savings result from EHC's complete evaluation of physician leadership, quality standards and OR efficiency
SITUATION: A 321-bed community hospital in the Southeast United States was experiencing significant financial challenges due to its high anesthesia costs.
The RFP Process: Steps For Getting The Most Accurate Bids
With the reality of shrinking margins, hospitals find themselves in a place where they must evaluate all major expenditures
Distributing a request for proposal (RFP) for a HBP service line can often be a painful process and one which should not be taken lightly.
EHC Solution Establishes Pediatric Care Capabilities In Community Hospitals
Enhance Healthcare Consultants developed a comprehensive, cost-effective solution
SITUATION: A major hospital system faced serious financial challenges in attempting to meet critical needs in its local communities.
OR Efficiency and Throughput
Benchmarking and Process Optimization
Dr. Robert Stiefel discusses the heightened importance of OR efficiency to hospitals.
Anesthesia Group Changes
You are a 15-person Group. Time for a Change: What are you going to do?
Dr. Greenfield shares insights on how anesthesia groups can stay afloat in the face of growing group consolidation.