How much a hospital spends on surgical supplies and staffing depends largely on its physicians, who drive 75-85% of all quality and cost decisions. Much like the selection of surgical supplies, the choice of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) providers has traditionally been left to the surgeons. As a result, it’s not uncommon to have three or more IONM providers supporting different surgeons within the same hospital. This often leads to unnecessary operational complexity and high managerial costs. And, while many non-consolidated, multi-provider environments originate from surgeon preference, they can actually have a negative impact on surgeon satisfaction. Consolidating providers is an attractive solution, but consolidation cannot be accomplished without surgeon buy-in, and that requires careful planning and coordination.
Data-driven, metric-based healthcare is required in today’s value-based environment and essential for sound decision-making. Without it, you’re simply guessing. Cost reductions and real increases in volume, efficiency, and ultimately revenue can be achieved when data and analytics are at your fingertips. That’s why we are excited to introduce SpecialtyCare OptimizeOR™, a user-friendly decision support and analytics system that helps OR managers improve productivity in perioperative performance. OptimizeOR software pulls your key performance measures into an easy-to-use online interface so that you can better manage resources for improved scheduling, staff allocation, and supply utilization. Optimized resource management makes space for increased case volume, minimizes inefficiency, reduces unnecessary spending, and drives patient and surgeon satisfaction.
In healthcare, the sweet spot is the perfect balance of healthcare spending and patient outcomes. It’s the place of equilibrium that features just the right type and degree of patient care while avoiding the cost and potential harm of unnecessary interventions. Some providers have learned that balancing both clinical and economic concerns must begin on the most basic level—with a check of the patient’s blood health—and implementation of effective patient blood management (PBM) strategies.
“We have an enormous problem that is often not beginning on street corners; it is starting in doctor’s offices and hospitals in every state in our nation.” This quote comes from the recent interim report by the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Since 1999, the number of opioid overdoses in the U.S. has quadrupled. Over that same period, the amount of prescription opioids sold has quadrupled as well. With a substantial portion of the population experiencing chronic pain and more than 650,000 prescriptions dispensed every day, the medical profession must employ every available strategy to address the tragic human and economic costs of opioid misuse, abuse, and dependence. One such tactic is to avoid the need for prescription opioids in the first place, or to limit a patient’s pain management need to a very short duration.