Case Studies

Background:
• A Midwest location with 12 new OR’s serving primarily a general surgery, orthopedics and OB physician community.
• 23 years without a fully staffed anesthesia department
• Competition in form of a surgeon owned ASC that is 2 blocks away,

Problems:
• Inconsistent clinical leadership in both MDA’s and CRNA’s
• Increasing costs
• Increasing surgeon and patient dissatisfaction
• Borderline un-recruitable environment
• Negative reputation in the provider community

Solutions:
Working with the hospital and the surgeons AmSol established an OR and anesthesia delivery model that best served the surgical community and established efficiencies for the hospital. Once that was accomplished AmSol utilized its Regional Clinical Leaders to recruit a full time Medical Director of Anesthesia and a Chief CRNA. Those placements helped to establish better relationships throughout the entire community as well as within local clinical education programs for SRNA’s and an outreach program between anesthesia and surgeons.

2 years later AmSol has recruited a full complement of 5 anesthesia physicians and 9 CRNA’s. Case volume has increased 15 % OR and CRNA utilization has increased to more than 125% of the MGMA benchmark of cases per CRNA and anesthetizing location. Hospital costs have decreased through lower and eliminated stipends Surgeon satisfaction surveys are returning the highest percentage of positive responses of any department in the hospital.

Background:
• Hospital # 2 is a small community hospital I a rural setting in the Midwest.
• The Hospital qualifies under Medicare regulations as a critical access hospital.
• For 25 years the anesthesia department worked as CRNA only.

Problem:
• Unrecruitable environment
o The hospital was trying to recruit new surgeon’s but couldn’t under that anesthesia delivery model.
• Stagnent income and increasing costs
o The CRNA only delivery model was not increasing case volume, OR revenue and the hospital was paying above market value for CRNA coverage.

Solution:
Working with hospital administration and OR management AmSol met with leading surgeons within the local community educating them on the medical direction model as well as the benefits of Team Anesthesia.
AmSol developed a staffing model that based on case volume and payer mix indicated a strong upside in potential OR growth.

Within 6 months of taking over the anesthesia contract the department was fully staffed with anesthesia physicians and new CRNA’s. Within 18 months the physician had earned an incentive financialy driven bonus Case volume had increased by 35%