Collecting and sharing from key clinical and financial analytics across multiple ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is one of the ways CarePlus adds value that extends well beyond the anesthesia and practice management services most centers expect from a full-service partner.
“We see many examples underscoring the benefits of our sharing best practices and processes across the ASCs with whom we partner,” says John Morgan, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at CarePlus. “The access to metrics allows ASCs to operate within a more integrated system.”
Unique insights into critical functions such as operating room utilization, financial performance, and quality measures, benchmarked across multiple ASCs, are among the analytics CarePlus brings to the table – beyond what other anesthesia groups share. Dr. Morgan offers two relevant examples where better information helped ASCs improve their bottom line by noticing outliers and solving problems:
- Among the analytics CarePlus tracks is financial performance by payer. In one case, digging underneath suddenly declining numbers, we realized that an ASC doctor had changed her schedule to stop taking cases at 7 a.m. at about the time the decline began. CarePlus analytics showed that early morning time slot was a time when many patients insured by more profitable, commercial payers preferred to come in. While the cause and effect made intuitive sense, the center may not have connected the two data points on its own, due to busy schedules and more pressing priorities.
- In another case, benchmarks collected across all CarePlus centers suggested that patients at one ASC were experiencing significantly more aspiration than other centers. By looking at only their own data, the center may not have noticed – but the problem emerged clearly from integrated data across centers, triggering a look at specific cases. That investigation led to changes in clinical practice and drug utilization changes that helped improve outcomes.
“By tracking key analytics, we’ve learned that we can pinpoint problems and trends, and the individual ASCs really appreciate that information,” Dr. Morgan says. “And it goes beyond just us collecting the data and sharing it. The surgeons at our centers share with us as well, and that leads to better peer review and teamwork. It’s truly a multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving.”
“At CarePlus, we pride ourselves on building partnership with our centers, not just showing up to deliver anesthesia and leaving,” Dr. Morgan continues. “Sharing information, facilitating communication between centers helps our partners and also leads to referral business for us because we have better relationships as a result.”
Interested in helping your ASC or office-based practice improve your bottom-line based on key analytics? Contact CarePlus.