Orthopedic ASC opened in 2020 has sights set on expansion, 2 other priorities

Taylor Cera, COO of Orthopaedic Surgery Center in Youngstown, Ohio, joined the Becker’s Healthcare Ambulatory Surgery Centers podcasts recently to talk about the strategic plan for his center in 2021.

Below is an excerpt from the discussion. The interview is edited lightly for clarity and length.

Click here to access the full episode.

Question: What are your top three plans for your ASC in 2021?

No. 1: Revenue cycle management. We are making sure our team has the resources needed to manage our revenue cycle. In 2021, we’ve seen some significant changes from insurance companies in how our revenue cycle is flowing, so being able to change and implement new process that allow us to adapt to some of the changes we’re seeing in the environment, that hopefully allows us to maintain a clean and efficient revenue cycle process as we go through the year.

No. 2: Potential expansion of our physical [facility]. We just opened at the beginning of 2020, but we’ve done a very good job in recruiting physicians and expanding service lines. CMS continues to change and potentially steer volume toward the outpatient ASC setting by allowing more procedures to be done in an ASC setting. Total knees were allowed in 2020 and total hips in 2021, and if CMS puts total shoulder arthroplasty on the ASC fee schedule, that will further expand our orthopedic service line. In order to maintain efficiency we are considering expanding our operating rooms.

No. 3: Prioritization of our culture. What we’ve seen in 2020 with the pandemic has raised the awareness in a couple different areas that I’ll note here. The first is what I will call optimism and confidence; second is staff recognition, and third is communicating, and fourth is engaging staff. From a leadership standpoint, it’s very important to continue to instill optimism and positivity in our environment and culture. It’s twofold. There is an optimistic approach to how leaders should communicate and handle staff, but there is a reality, too. It’s about understanding that there will be some uncertainty, and unfortunately, some negativity, and as leaders we need to continue to communicate positivity. There may not be clear-cut answers (to some issues) and that’s the reality we are living in today. It’s important for us to understand that and deliver clear messages to our teams. Latest articles on orthopedics.