If you think you are alone in your issues, thoughts, and questions, you are not. The following are some random comments overheard from your peers in both hospitals and ASCs. Admittedly, some of these are amusing asides; however, others might provide some food for thought at your facility. Maybe you find yourself asking (or answering) similar questions. Or perhaps you’ll ask similar questions of your staff or take time to better scrutinize certain aspects of your facility. Hopefully, asking more questions and raising awareness around important issues will result in improved operations at your facilities.
- When are surgery centers going to be required to maintain an electronic medical record? It seems like no one really knows, and now I have heard from some vendor that we may never be required to foot that bill and can stay on paper.
- It seems like the corporate surgery center companies are buying all the surgery centers they can. I wonder what they know that I don’t?
- Is Trump is going to reduce the paperwork on running a surgery center?
- I wonder why anesthesia staff never clean up after their cases and leaves it for my staff.
- With spine and total joints procedures moving to surgery centers, are we (hospitals) going to get stuck with just old people and high-risk cases?
- My staff wants another raise. Seems like this happens a couple of times a year. I wonder when I get one?
- I have no idea how to handle mobile phones with cameras in my area. It seems like it is out of control, and nothing makes sense in trying to regulate it.
- There was another miscount on the narc sheet yesterday.
- The state is holding reimbursement on all Medicaid payments again. I wonder if we can hold off on performing surgery on Medicaid patients?
- Our lease is running out in two years, and the landlord is playing hardball.
- Looks like someone is stealing supplies.
- Housekeeping is not cleaning in the corners of the rooms — again.
- The surgeons don’t like the free meal we gave them today and now want to order what they want from their phones.
- Three out of the four 7 a.m. cases are delayed because surgeons are late — again.
- It is so tempting to just scream at patients’ families when they ask why it is taking so long.
(Earnhart & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in all aspects of outpatient surgery development and management. Earnhart & Associates can be reached at 5114 Balcones Woods Drive, Suite 307-203, Austin, TX 78759. Phone: (512) 297-7575. Fax: (512) 233-2979. Email: [email protected]. Web: www.earnhart.com.)
Hopefully, asking more questions and raising awareness around important issues will result in improved operations at your facilities.
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