How do surgery mangers determine what is value?
By Stephen W. Earnhart, MS
CEO
Earnhart & Associates
Austin, TX
There are many cost-saving ideas, salary information, and ways to enhance revenue in this issue of Same-Day Surgery — more value that SDS is bringing to you. But what really is value? How do we measure it?
Because we are a numerical society, when we talk about "value," there usually is a dollar sign hovering somewhere near it. Value is a relative measurement. An ice-cold soda is much more valuable to me when it is hot and humid than when the weather is cold. My receptionist is more valuable to me when other staff members are out sick. The plastic surgeon who brings cases to the facility only every other week gets a hardy "welcome!" when it is the end of the month and I need two more cases to make budget.
Value needs to be measured in a vacuum, away from all distractions, to be exact. This need is one reason a budget is done a year in advance. I don't like budgets, but do see their value in setting the edge of the envelope for a business. They establish value in a calm environment. My receptionist is worth $27,000 to me a year in advance, but when everyone else is out sick, the phones are ringing, and three reports are due, she is worth much more. If my receptionist freezes up when she's under pressure of doing the job of three, then her value is much less than $27,000. If fact, I would need to reassess her value even in the calmest of weather.
As a staff member of a health care facility, you need to determine your value to the organization for which you are employed. Does the job bring value to you? Is it just a place from which to draw a paycheck until you are out of school or the kids are grown? Or, is this the job you want to retire from?
Value is determined by individuals for themselves, based upon the individual circumstances. The value the individuals place on themselves might differ from the value the organization places upon them. I own my own company because in the past, I thought I was more valuable to my employers than they thought I was — never a good position!
One reason surgeons use a particular instrument is based upon the value of the service that that individual company provides to them by their sales rep. In the face of the hospital or surgery center's cost-saving quest to get them to change to a less expensive instrument, the perceived value that company's representative brings to the surgeons will dictate their response to your request. The instrument might be a piece if junk and overpriced to us, but if the surgeons place value on it, then in all likelihood, they will stick with it.
How many times have we all seen a mediocre staff member rise in the ranks because the surgeons love them? Why? Because that individual has met the needs of that surgeon. Does that mean that merely meeting someone's needs establishes their value?
Personnel cost is the greatest expense for any company, especially in health care where so much education, training, and trust is required. While some facilities have hundreds of employees and others only a handful, all assign a value to those individuals.
- For managers: While you are looking at the cost of sponges, reassess the value staff members bring to the organization. Adjust where necessary. Be the first to praise when indicated, and be the first to adjust the position when required.
- For staff members: Make sure the value you give is returned to you. Many of us work in health care because we are caregivers. That doesn't mean we wish to be taken advantage of however.
- For both: If everyone feels their needs are met, through employment or self-worth, there is value.
[Earnhart & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of outpatient surgery development and management. Contact Earnhart at 13492 Research Blvd., Suite 120-258, Austin, TX 78750-2254. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.earnhart.com.]
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