ASCs and the key to patient satisfaction

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) are very reliant on the ratings of their patients. Below are a few tips to ensure customer satisfaction courtesy of Nicholas Frisch, MD, MBA, an orthopedic surgeon with Ascension Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, Michigan, and Bald Mountain Surgery Center in Lake Orion, Michigan.

Ambulatory environments don’t always have the resources of a large medical center, so ASC staff are expected to be quick on their feet and adapt accordingly. Creating a functional infrastructure is key and includes a combination of increased staffing and patient outreach during critical intervals in the recovery process. Staff is trained to appropriately answer patient questions/concerns and prioritize who needs to be seen sooner.

Frisch recommends apps such as PeerWell to provide an extra dimension to patient care by serving as a convenient resource for further questions and information that the physician may not have time to answer.

The issue of pain management in relation to careful prescribing has been a growing patient concern. The reactive approach has always been to give out narcotics and assume that the pain will be managed as patients seldom called with complaints. There is a new model for controlling pain known as perioperative pain management. Pain is now proactively managed. This calls for highly organized surgery centers where patients have everything they need in advance; this includes their prescriptions (which are preferred to be non-opioids such as Tylenol, NSAIDS, and gabapentenoids). These medications are accompanied by customized schedules for the first two weeks so that the only time a patient might need a narcotic is if they experience breakthrough pain. 

Source: HealthLeaders Media