2 Critical Elements for a Successful Office-Based Surgery Suite
The movement towards office-based surgery is rapidly growing because it provides great benefits for patients, physicians, and payors. In fact, iOR Partners has been talking to industry experts, surgeons, and even congress about the benefits to the healthcare system for a number of years.
Now, having launched and managed dozens of office-based surgical suites across the country, the team at iOR can tell you there are two critical elements for a successful OBS project.
Highest Patient Safety
Undoubtedly, safety is first. iOR recently concluded a study, to be published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2023, of 18,539 real-world cases in 37 practices across the country, and the data clearly shows that OBS is as just as good or better outcomes as ASCs or hospitals. The ability to maintain this high level of safety is contingent upon three things:
- The skill of the surgeon. When tools are in the hands of a talented surgeon with years of experience, you are off to a very safe start. Ophthalmologists are experts in their field and can determine the safest environment for their patients.
- A well-trained staff. A great surgical staff isn’t born, it’s made. Building a surgical team within a practice takes an experienced and dedicated trainer to ensure the staff understands their roles and responsibilities. By completion, the staff should be trained to competency for their respective surgical roles.
- Proper protocols. Staff training relies on the ability to follow OBS protocols, and repeat the process with an extremely high level of accuracy. These protocols are built to reduce errors, improve safety, increase efficiency, and ensure consistency.
Lance Kugler, MD of Kugler Vision in Omaha, NE shares his experience on his transition to in-office cataract surgery, his initial concerns and the steps he took to ensure a safe environment.
Expertise in Ophthalmic Office-Based Surgery
It’s crucial that all protocols and training come from processes and people with a wealth of experience. In order to know exactly what to do (and how to do it) in nearly every variation of the surgical experience, your trainer must be immersed in their industry. This isn’t the type of training you can rent; in order to achieve maximum results, you need to have someone alongside you and your staff throughout the entire accreditation process.
Equally as important is payor management. In order to sustain the lifeblood of your practice, your procedures must be reimbursable. If you start billing incorrectly (or don’t understand how to utilize and maximize the insurance and CPT billing codes), you could easily find yourself in a hole.
You need a guide that’s been able to successfully collect from Medicare and insurance providers for tens of thousands of procedures across the US.
“Through iOR’s surgery prevarication process, the out-of-network benefits exceed the expectations I had, and the in network benefits were exactly what we expected.”
-Hugh Glatts CEO of Mittleman Eye
Finally, you need a roadmap for the process. Considering office-based surgery is a big undertaking, and doing it right requires people who understand what it takes, from A-Z. You need a clear, detailed process that includes:
- Space design and buildout
- Equipment planning
- Supplies costs
- Staff training
- Accreditation
- Compliance and governance
- Protocols, policies and procedures
- Materials management
- Surgical medical records
- Verification of benefits
- Billing methods for reimbursement
- …And many other things you would never think about, unless you’ve gone through this process many times!
When you set up your office-based suite to be safe and fully reimbursable, you can rest easy knowing your practice is set up for success.
The best way to guarantee a positive result is to partner with a group that can seamlessly guide you along the roadmap to success.
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