Managers share ups and downs of SDS
Informal survey taken at SDS Conference
By Stephen W. Earnhart, MS
President and CEO
Earnhart and Associates, Dallas
For those of you who were unable to attend the annual Same-Day Surgery Conference in June in Atlanta, you missed a great one! The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the network-ing was some of the best I’ve seen in some time. (Editor’s note: This conference will be repeated in November. See p. 120.) As I did after last year’s conference, I met informally with a number of the administrator attendees and, swearing name confidentiality, asked them the following questions:
Question: "What causes you the most grief at your center?"
Answer: "Paperwork" was the largest single item mentioned, with 70% citing it as increasingly difficult to control. Of those citing this problem, the majority said the increased minutiae were a result of a hospital bureaucrat who didn’t understand that the center performed surgery and didn’t exist to generate useless reports. Even the "corporate" administrators claimed that most of the work they were required to perform was to justify some VP’s job! (See why this survey was confidential?)
The remaining 30% cited managed care tracking, personnel issues, MDs, parking problems, and patients. (Hello? Gotta have them, you know. Surgeons are also a valuable asset!)
Question: "Are you doing better financially this year than last year?"
Answer: Fifty percent reported "about the same." Forty percent were doing "a little bit better," and 10% said they were "up to their butts in alligators" (or some such language).
Question: "Where do you see the greatest potential source of new revenue coming from in the next few years?"
Answer: Not surprisingly, all felt that pain management programs, cosmetic surgery, and (relatively) new procedures such as bilateral endo-laparoscopic sympathectomies were going to add new revenue.
Question: "How are you going to motivate your staff to be productive next year?"
Answer: "Incentive money and time off with pay" were the overwhelming responses. It’s time our staff start risk-sharing. If we’re going to cut their hours during off-peak times, then we should compensate them during high output. I am a strong believer in incentives for performance.
Question: "What are you not going to do next year that you did last year?"
Answer: "Buy another laser!" was the most outspoken response. Others included, "spend half my life on a budget that no one believes or takes seriously anyway"; "take my boss’ suggestions or ideas" (whoa!); and "hire a relative." (I think there was more to that story than I wanted to know.)
Question: "Have you or are you considering farming out’ or subcontracting any services from your center?"
Answer: Most said yes to housekeeping, coding of procedures, biomedical inspections of equipment, laundry, and transcription services.
Question: "Overall, have your surgeons been a greater help to you this year than they were last year on cost control?"
Answer: Eighty percent said yes. Twenty percent reported no difference.
Question: "What one thing do you want most from your boss or supervisor?"
Answer: The response to this question really surprised me at first. "Respect" was the No. 1 response. "Recognition" was second. (That’s sort of like respect, isn’t it?) "More authority" again, a kind of respect was third. "Honesty" was the fourth. What’s missing? Right: money! But that’s the nice thing about professionals they know their priorities!
P.S. I thought I’d pass on some new technology. There is computer software out there that can convert your handwriting and signature into a computer "font." The result is that you can type a letter in your own handwriting! It’s a nice touch for personalizing letters and notes. If you’re interested, contact Jeanette Burkhardt at Signature Software, 489 N. Eighth St., Suite 201, Hood River, OR 97031. Telephone: (800) 925-8840 or (541) 386-3221. E-mail: info@signaturesoftware. com. World Wide Web: http://www.signature software.com. Enjoy.
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