FEATURE
tors are getting fives. So, if an ASC strives to be the center of choice, they need to score fives as well. Whatever it is that they can do to make them- selves be the best, they should do it.” O’Neill agrees. “We would like to
From Information to Excellence
Improve the performance of your ASC by applying what you learn from satisfaction surveys your ASC conducts. BY ROB KURTZ
“If you’re not going to utilize what you learn from a survey, then why have anyone take it?” asks Stephen Blake, chief executive officer and ad- ministrator of Central Park Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas. “Why waste anyone’s time? From a busi- ness standpoint, time is money, so we try to use it wisely.” At a minimum, ASCs should con-
duct patient satisfaction surveys, says Ann O’Neill, RN, director of clinical operations for ASC management and development company Regent Sur- gical Health. Surgery centers might want to consider conducting provider and staff satisfaction surveys, and extending these survey efforts to in- clude physician office managers and schedulers. Satisfaction surveys provide you with the ability to measure how well your ASC is performing in different
20 ASC FOCUS APRIL 2013
facets of your operation, O’Neill says, but if used wisely, they can also serve to help you improve in a number of areas, including quality, efficiency, re- cruitment and payer contracting.
Don’t Settle for Average or Above Average Health care is a very competitive market at the moment, says Sarah Martin, RN, CASC, vice president of clinical operations for ASC man- agement and development company Symbion Healthcare. ASCs are in competition for patients, physicians and staff. To be successful in a com- petitive market, Martin says, surgery centers need to constantly strive for excellence. “I’m never satisfied with anything less than great in all areas,” she says. “On a measurement scale of 1 to 5, ASCs need to assume their competi-
have everybody think we’re provid- ing excellent care. We don’t want to be just better than average. Don’t just accept that 90 percent of your pa- tients are choosing the top two scores of excellent and above average. Look deeper into your data. Look at how many are choosing the top score, and for those areas where they are consistently not choosing the top score, identify what the causes may be and see what you can do in terms of changing your processes and modifying your behavior. The goal is not just improving your score; it’s really about improving the quality of care you’re providing, the quality of services for your providers and the quality of the work environment for your staff.” In the event that you receive a
score lower than above average, don’t ignore it, Martin says. “It’s re- ally important to look much further than just complaints or poor results. If you get a poor score, address it and look for trends contributing to that score. I even say look for fairs. If your facility is used to getting fives on the scale and all of a sudden you’re seeing a trend of fair scores, even if it’s in just one area, I would zero in on that.” You should also look at individual cases of negative feedback, O’Neill says. “With a single patient, there may have been a specific incident that happened during his care that will come out in your satisfaction survey. This patient may add a com- ment and really mark you down in all areas if he was unhappy about a cer- tain aspect of his care. In those situa- tions, if the patient can be identified, then the patient should be contacted
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