1. Drill down
You and your surgeons — especially your surgeons — need actual data to make the case for case costing. Surgeons are scientists who
base their decisions on facts, not hearsay. Presenting black-and-white
arguments to docs for reducing supply expenses is difficult. It's not that most managers and directors don't want to track supply expenses; they just might not have the tools to do it efficiently and effectively. You're in luck if you work with a robust finance system that can pull case costs for specific specialties and surgeons. If you don't, find a tool and a process that will let you drill down to the needed information.
Attack the 5 highest-volume procedures, regardless of which specialty they fall under, in order to compare costs between surgeons and procedures. Huddle with surgical services senior leadership to comb through the cost-per-case data and decide which numbers to present to surgeons during monthly meetings.
Then meet with surgeons as a group to show them how their individual case costs compare across the top 5 procedures. Break the data out to show high-cost surgeons the products that inflate their per-case expenses.
2. Make the case
Don't dictate that surgeons reduce their case costs — give them the data so they can change their behaviors. We've found that holding an
ultimatum over their heads is counterproductive. Instead, present the numbers and put the onus on them to determine the range they want their case costs to fall into. Surgeons who decide what case costs are acceptable are more likely to make change happen. Tell them they're competing for cases, and as healthcare reform settles into reality,
