Is your ambulatory surgery center’s ability to expand constrained by a lack of anesthesia resources? As ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continue to optimize efficiency and output as a growth strategy, many are examining bottlenecks to increase case volume and they are finding an opportunity in anesthesia.
A flexible anesthesia staffing plan – one that helps a center capitalize on its existing case volume capacity – is one key to optimal ASC scheduling and throughput. While providing superior anesthesia management and recruitment services, CarePlus can be an excellent partner in developing such a plan.
“We often find that adding another anesthesia provider, on a part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent basis, can open doors to growth, allowing your ASC to see more patients and perform more surgeries,” says Paul Weir, Senior Vice President of Operations and Business Development at CarePlus.
We have maximized our ability to help clients with staffing through our partnership with a national anesthesia recruiting leader, Radar Healthcare Providers. This alliance allows us to find providers with the flexibility to scale their volume across a wide array of surgical cases. Tapping into the extensive, national database including more than 50,000 anesthesia providers, allows CarePlus the breadth of resources necessary to accommodate the needs of growing ASCs by helping them add bandwidth as needed (i.e. half days, an extra day per week, or even extra providers for after hours or weekend work).
Staff turnover, illness, maternity leave, or the incapacity to scale and increase case volume are some examples of common blocks for ASC growth. Weir explains that “bottlenecks” in anesthesia stem from these everyday challenges. “We have the ability to manage those needs proactively and add staffing bandwidth via access to flexible providers in Radar’s database and help our ASCs partners keep up with demand.”
“For example, if an ASC is certified for two operating rooms, but only has the anesthesia resources for one, we can solve that problem,” he imparts. “We help them grow by adding flexible days of service in that second room – maybe just one day at first but adding additional days as the case volume is there.”
“In addition, if anesthesia is not the issue and the facility is underutilized due to not enough GI physicians or a shortage of physician extenders, we can address that need too and actively help drive capacity,” Weir continues. “Using our network, we recruit new utilizing physicians and mid-level physician extenders. Again, we’re enabling growth by allowing more patients to be seen and increasing surgical case volume.”
Leveraging CarePlus’ management and staffing resources allows our clients to optimize their services and empower their growth. Contact CarePlus today for help achieving your ASC’s goals.