FEATURE
does not necessarily mean you are max- imizing your effectiveness. How many cases that could have been done at your ASC have you lost? The best way to determine which measures matter most for your ASC is by tasking this analysis to a cross-func- tional team of business office, clinical and physician staff members.
Change Your Perception, Change Your Reality
ASCs need to address the needs of each customer simultaneously with a sophisticated—and sometimes cre- ative—approach. To illustrate this concept, with con-
sumers covering more of their health care costs, it is important to evaluate how your prices compare with your competition. If you are the lowest-cost provider, advertise that with your physicians and their offic- es. It is often these individuals that receive
the brunt of patient complaints, and you want to remind them why your ASC is the right choice for their patients. As an example, let’s say you have just recruited a new surgeon to your center. For the new physician’s first case, has the ASC’s team working with the surgeon been briefed on the surgeon? Were they told the physi- cian’s scrub size and was the proper scrub ordered and available? If the physician likes music playing in the OR, do you have this music ready? Each of these examples takes a dif-
ferent approach to improving your cus- tomers’ interaction with your ASC. The first may be easier to accomplish since it requires conveying a message and pro- viding a little education, while the sec- ond requires an investment in resources and time. Despite their differences, both efforts would serve to strengthen your customer service.
Make a Positive Impact Today Numerous books have been written and companies created with the sole objec- tive of teaching and improving customer service. Many of the practices described above can be instituted quickly and re- sult in positive change. The place to start: Create a cross-disciplined team charged with identifying the customer, map the points of influence indicating how and where you touch the customer, deter- mine what measures correlate to each customer’s satisfaction and brainstorm to turn these touches into touchdowns.
Robert McDavitt is senior vice president for Outpatient Healthcare Strategies (www.
outpatienthcs.com), a Houston, Texas-based consulting management services firm spe- cializing in operational and financial im- provements for ASCs. Contact him at rob-
ert@outpatienthcs.com.
ASC FOCUS JANUARY 2013
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