Corrie Massey, MBA
STAFFING
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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
6 Creative Staffing Solutions
Tips to keep your key people productive and satisfied.
P
ayroll is one of
your most expen-
sive line items, but
preserving the bottom
line and maintaining a
happy workplace don't
have to be mutually
exclusive goals. Here are
6 creative approaches to
staffing and case scheduling that can help you generate revenue with-
out sacrificing valuable and valued members of your surgical team.
Take a hard look at the schedule.
Identifying gaps that are costing
your center money is the first and easiest way to plug the finan-
cial hole caused by inefficient staffing. Lulls in the middle of the day are
difficult to fill with cases, and getting staff started on a project may be
challenging if they have to shift gears back into OR mode in just a few
hours.
To keep downtime to a minimum, scour the surgical schedule for
unused block times and quickly replace the OR assignments of low-
volume surgeons with docs who bring revenue-generating cases to
your center. If your surgeons always attend academy meetings, open
their blocks during those weeks for other specialties. Ask surgeons to
notify you of their vacation plans at least a month in advance. If you
know they always take time off at the end of their kids' school years,
open up those block times, too.
It's difficult to fill schedule gaps with cases if you wait until the last
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PAY CHECK You can take steps to control
the cost of staffing — one of the highest
expenses on your facility's books.
