Focus on what you can change, not the economy
By Stephen W. Earnhart, MS
CEO
Earnhart & Associates
Austin, TX
Let's have a show of hands of those who have real concerns about the economy and the overall health of business today. (Cue to author who is waving both hands in the air).
Scary, huh? What can you do about it? Nothing.
Really, there is nothing you can do on an individual basis that is going to change it. So rather than worry about the global implications, you need to focus on how you can adapt on a personal level. The world will fix itself eventually without your help. (Please do not ask me to turn down my thermostat!)
By reducing the global implications down to a personal level, you decrease the anxiety associated with what is going on outside of your sphere of influence to areas you can control. Let's look at some areas.
• Your job. This is not the best of times to be unemployed, and it's a rather gutsy time to quit a job over principle, so focus on preserving that income. Not surprisingly this is a wonderful time to sit down with your boss and ask this very simple question: "What can I do to help around here?" As a "boss," it will bring a hint of moisture to my eyes that someone is asking me rather than the other way around. Bosses do not forget people who want to be part of the solution rather than the problem. Really. (I wonder if my staff reads this. We'll soon see.)
However, no matter how much you kiss up at work — yes, it does help — it won't do any good if "work" is going down the tubes. So, let's look at the surgical department.
• Your surgical department. It really makes no difference if you work in a hospital or surgery center, because both are being affected by the economy. It makes sense that many patients with elective surgery will hold off until "better times" to have their surgery. Companies are charging fuel surcharges on deliveries that will affect our cost on just about everything. Unfortunately, we as an industry cannot pass on those costs to our patients, so essentially, the buck will stop at our door. We need to minimize those losses.
• Overtime. Overtime is an enormous burden to any health care provider. Employees love it, but business managers hate it. The best way to eliminate it is to compress your surgical schedule into nonovertime pay. Consider the following:
— Eliminate the gaps in the surgical schedule by bringing patients in earlier in the day to avoid waiting for them when the schedule moves up due to no-shows.
— Shift to a more per-diem or part-time work force so overtime hours do not kick in.
— More efficiently control your block time utilization.
— Reduce no-shows by calling each patient the day before and the day of surgery.
— Consider four-day workweeks so critical staff members can reduce their commute and reduce overtime by working later in the day.
• Reduce patient travel expense.
If you live in a high-commuting area, you might want to consider picking up patients at their home by cab or other means to eliminate no-shows. Even if you save two or three cases per month, it will be worth the cost.
• Reduce patient draping.
In my opinion, we overdrape our surgical field. Work with your surgeons and infection control committee to look at this important and often overlooked area of cost control. (See ways to reduce fuel surcharges, and more ideas for hospitals and for-profit surgery centers, below.)
Ways to Reduce Fuel Surcharges
Source: Stephen W. Earnhart, MS, CEO, Earnhart & Associates, Austin, TX. |
How to Cut Your Costs
For-profit Surgery Centers:
Hospital Outpatient Departments:
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(Earnhart & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of outpatient surgery development and management. Contact Earnhart at 1000 Westbank Drive, Suite 5B, Austin, TX 78746. E-mail: [email protected]. Web: www.earnhart.com.)
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