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June 2005
In this month's issue:
Three Reasons Why You Should Own
an Endoscopy Center
It’s not by chance that the number of gastroenterologists
who are partners in an endoscopy center has grown significantly
over the past several years. They have realized that center ownership
can deliver some key advantages. If you have not yet joined their
ranks, then you should consider what you are missing:
- Gain substantial added income
Becoming a partner in an endoscopy center can be an excellent
way to increase your income, without adding to your workload.
Acquiring passive income through facility fees (that would otherwise
go to the hospital or facility where you perform procedures) is
a good business decision, particularly in an era of limited reimbursement
for professional services. An ownership position in a center also
can be an incentive for other gastroenterologists to join your
practice, further increasing your revenue potential.
- Maintain service quality
Working in a dedicated ambulatory endoscopy center allows the
medical and administrative staff to become very knowledgeable
about the services they help to provide. Staff members can perform
more efficiently, while adhering to the high quality standards
you have set. They also can help discover ways to continually
improve productivity, service quality, and patient satisfaction.
- Improve your lifestyle
Scheduling issues and commute time impact your productivity. Owning
a dedicated center can eliminate these problems, giving you more
control over your time. As a partner in a center, you will have
more time and money to use as you see fit. You can choose to spend
more time with family and friends, pursuing your personal interests,
or seeing more patients. You’ll have the tools to create
the lifestyle that meets your specific needs.
EndoCenter Partners can help you quickly realize the benefits of owning
an endoscopy center. To learn more, visit endocenterpartners.com
or call 866.871.3676 or 650.496.4130.
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Avoiding Accreditation Agony - Part
1
While the thought of preparing for an accreditation survey often
elicits groans from medical and administrative personnel, the truth
is that experienced leadership, proper planning and teamwork can
make a world of difference. In this issue, we will explore three
aspects of proper preparation for an on-site survey.
- Experienced team leader
When it comes to handling the complexities of accreditation, Medicare
certification, and state licensing, experience counts. Most physicians
don’t have the time or expertise to manage the regulatory
aspects of their endoscopy center. It’s important to partner
with someone who can guide you and the center’s staff through
the accreditation process. An experienced team leader will be
able to prepare schedules and plans, divide up the work, review
documentation, train personnel, oversee practice drills, and coordinate
activities during and after the survey. This expertise will also
be needed to keep the center compliant with all ongoing standards
and requirements in preparation for the next accreditation survey.
- Sufficient preparation time
Preparing for accreditation is like studying for the medical boards
– last minute cramming will not work. Success requires reviewing
the standards manual section-by-section, identifying operational
areas that need to be improved, and working to become compliant
in both word and deed. Policies and procedures, patient charts,
physician licensure and credentialing records, QA studies, patient
surveys, logs and other documentation should be prepared in accordance
with accreditation guidelines. Then staff members must be trained
and evaluated to ensure adherence to the center’s standards.
All of this must take place weeks and months prior to the accreditation
survey. As with most things, unless enough time has been allocated
for planning, preparation, and practice, the results will be less
than desired.
- Center-specific policies and procedures
It’s tempting to reuse the policies and procedures that
have been developed for another facility in order to save time
and effort. However, unless they have been carefully reviewed
and revised for applicability, you will wind up with documentation
that bears little relation to actual practice and may not even
be appropriate for your center. The best way to ensure that what’s
on paper reflects actual practice is for your staff to develop
the policies and procedures themselves. Failing that, they should
comb through the adopted policies and procedures and tailor them
to the center’s operations. Also, policies need to be regularly
reviewed to be sure they are up to date. If the documentation
has been changed without informing the staff or existing paperwork
doesn’t reflect changes put into practice, these discrepancies
will be discovered during the accreditation survey.
At EndoCenter Partners, our in-house experts have successfully guided
dozens of centers through the accreditation process. As our partner,
we will manage all aspects of your center’s JCAHO accreditation.
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A Profile in Profitability – Sutter
Street Endoscopy Center
In 1999, when Frank J. Farrell, MD wanted to open an endoscopy
center in San Francisco, he quickly recruited three other physicians
to become partners in a center, knowing that a sufficient case volume
would be required to offset fixed operating costs. Then he turned
to EndoCenter Partners to develop and manage the center. “It
takes time to build something like an endoscopy center,” noted
Dr. Farrell. “Appropriate locations are often difficult to
find and we wanted the right place. Also, working with the City
of San Francisco involves a lot of red tape. Who has time to practice
medicine and undertake a project like this on their own?”
EndoCenter Partners went to work, handling everything from finding
and equipping a location to staffing, accreditation, and billing.
According to Dr. Farrell, “Start to finish, opening Sutter
Street Endoscopy Center with EndoCenter Partners was a very good
experience. Their approach defines “turnkey.” And having
our own center has proven to be a very good thing. We benefit from
the revenues that would otherwise go to the hospital. EndoCenter
Partners’ gastroenterology experience and business knowledge,
including knowing how to work with our payers, has proven to be
a definite advantage.”
Performing procedures in their own center has provided other benefits
for these physician partners. Their scheduling preferences are accommodated,
affording them greater control over their time. And the center’s
dedicated, trained staff can efficiently deliver high quality care.
As a satisfied partner, Dr. Farrell regularly encourages other physicians
to investigate opening their own center with EndoCenter Partners.
As he notes, “Ours has been a very positive relationship.”
 Owning
an endoscopy center can provide you and your staff with an attractive,
well-equipped facility in which to deliver high quality care for
your patients. As well as a source of pride, it can generate significant
income for you and your fellow physician partners.
To learn EndoCenter Partners can help you own a profitable endoscopy
center, visit endocenterpartners.com
or call 866.871.3676 or 650.496.4130.
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