Inaugural today’s surgicenterConference Attracts 160-Plus ASC Professionals

Inaugural today’s surgicenter Conference Attracts 160-Plus ASC Professionals

LAS VEGAS — Ambulatory surgery center owners, operators and investors attended two days of seminars, networking events and exhibits at the first today’s surgicenter conference held at The Venetian and The Sands Expo, Oct. 1-2, 2004. The conference was produced by Virgo Publishing, publishers of today’s surgicenter magazine, and developed with Stryker Corporation.

“We see a lot of industry conferences addressing clinical solutions for ASCs; this is the first to drill down on business solutions for executives in this arena,” says Peggy Jackson, director of publishing for Virgo’s Health & Nutrition Division. “The combination of informative seminars, exhibits with an array of products and services, and networking opportunities offered one-stop shopping for attendees. We have been publishing today’s surgicenter magazine since 2002, so moving into the conference arena with this angle was a perfect fit.”

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“The main goal that we strove for at this conference was to give attendees a single, concise source for the latest ASC-related information,” says Joe Delligatti, director of new business development for Stryker Corp. “The comments from many of the attendees clearly indicated that we achieved this goal. Numerous people told me that they were impressed with the completeness of the agenda. Others wanted to know, ‘Where were you five years ago?!’”

Delligatti adds, “For start-ups, the information provided was an extremely useful primer for understanding the process of forming an ASC. Our goal was to help surgeons and administrators become educated consumers. For existing centers, the conference provided timely legal and business updates that can be implemented to help improve operations and profitability of their centers.”

The conference was kicked off with a general session, “Legal and Regulatory Issues,” moderated by Delligatti and featuring presentations by Scott Becker, JD, a partner with McGuireWoods, Ross & Hardies; Lorin Patterson, JD, a partner with Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP; and Richard Cowart, chairman of the health law department of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz.

Becker told attendees that the current Medicare reimbursement freeze of CPI minus 3 percent was “indicative of the view that the federal government thinks ASCs are plenty profitable.” He advised that facility owners and operators continue to foster a “culture of compliance” in order to navigate the choppy waters ahead. He said facilities should remember the factors that lead to success: operating in a good reimbursement climate, creating facilities around a good core group, and building centers on a small, careful scale. Patterson added that ASCs fail because of a lack of a solid feasibility study, the incurrence of too much debt, and professional jealousy, where one physician who demands the lion’s share of profits can alienate other investors. Cowart said that while ASCs are “very resilient,” too much capital can be spent on the building process. “I’ve seen centers under-perform because they focus on too many things not related directly to the business of operating the facility.”

Later on the morning of the first day of the conference, participants had the choice to attend a track of seminars designed for start-up facilities or existing facilities. Topics ranged from feasibility analysis and design/construction to equipment financing and investigating the benefits of a management company.

In his presentation on equipment financing and technology, exhibitor Jeff Fox, manager of the outpatient finance group for CitiCapital, advised attendees that when it came to lines of credit, to pick the terms that are best of their respective centers, including exploring carefully vendor finance programs. “Don’t be a victim when it comes to financing and buying equipment,” Fox said. “Don’t be the one who asks after the fact, ‘Could I have done better?’ So, what’s a good deal? I’d say it’s one you chose and one that you can live with.” Fox encouraged attendees to have a good relationship with both their equipment planner and financier for optimum results. “Things like hidden costs or faulty equipment planning can lead to unpleasant surprises at the end of the deal.”

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In another session, exhibitors Jeffery Eckert, AIA, of Eckert-Wordell and Joe Delligatti of Stryker Corp. addressed technology’s role in the modern ASC. Eckert told attendees that as much as 70 percent of facilities are lacking modern technology, and that many more ASCs are “antiquated.”

“Reimbursements are down, costs are up, so the right technology can make all the difference,” Delligatti said. “You must design for what’s coming in technology, not just for what’s already here,” Eckert added.

Glen Pridgen, vice president of technology at Alliance Surgery, in his presentation on information system technology, said that lack of a secure password for wireless networks in surgery centers is the No. 1 killer of HIPAA compliance.

Participants returned to the general session room for lunch and a vendor presentation on “Ambulatory Surgery: Current and Future Challenges” given by Tom Yerden, MHA, president and CEO of Aspen Healthcare. Yerden shared traits of ASC survivors: having realistic expectations and a solid business plan; placing emphasis on controlling cost structure; balancing revenue enhancement with expense management; having seasoned governance and leadership; and most of all, avoiding dumb decisions.

Exhibits began shortly after lunch, and participants had the opportunity to meet with more than 25 exhibiting companies. “We enjoyed having a booth at the conference and meeting with customers,” said exhibitor Brent Upchurch of MarCap Corporation.

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Concurrent seminars resumed in the afternoon. One exhibitor, Caryl A. Serbin, RN, BSN, LHRM, president and founder of Surgery Consultants of America, Inc. and Surgery Center Billing, said, “I attend and speak at a number of conferences each year, and I found this conference to be very well organized and informative. It was an on-time, on-topic event!” Serbin, who made several presentations with colleague Judie English, vice president of business operations for Surgery Consultants of America, said she and English were approached by numerous attendees who had billing nightmares at their facilities, and who were able to take away principles they could implement in their practices immediately. “One attendee told me, ‘You made a difficult topic more interesting and enjoyable, and I didn’t think that was possible with managed care.’”

In the late afternoon of the first day of the conference, participants came together for a general session, “Organizing an ASC from a Physician’s Perspective,” presented by Kyle Hrdlicka, DO, chairman of the board of North Park Surgery Center, Brian Campbell, senior vice president of development and operations for Alliance Surgery, and Lorin Patterson, chair of the conference.

Friday evening concluded with a reception and exhibits. Participants enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while mingling with peers and exhibitors.

During the general session of the second day of the conference, Carol Poindexter, JD, from Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP, presented “Stark 101: What you Really Need to Know About the Law When Developing Your Center.” Participants attended three more breakout seminars in the mid-morning. Alicia Cooper, RN, MS, PAHM, presented her insights on successful marketing strategies, and encouraged attendees to conduct regular, thorough patient-satisfaction surveys, which boosts staff members’ morale and can be used for instant feedback on a facility’s operations.

In another session, Joe Zasa, JD, a cofounder and partner of Woodrum Ambulatory Systems Development, shared with participants some ideas on adding ancillary services. “Orthopods, pain managers, anesthesiologists, physiatrists, radiologists, and neurosurgeons all are adding cases and new services. With the slow-down of the development of specialty hospitals, we see the creation of more extensive cases in the ASC environment.”

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Attendees returned for the conference wrapup, lunch and exhibits. During the lunch, Derril W. Reeves, executive vice president of development of Surgis Inc., gave a sponsored vendor presentation on “Forging Surgery Center Partnerships That Will Last.” He encouraged attendees to feel good about the business they are in. “The ASC community is valuable because we’re doing what needs to be done,” he remarked. “We address the biggest complaints about healthcare, which are waste, cost, medical errors and access. We must be proud of what we do.”

Conference participants said they heard practical information they could put into practice immediately at their facilities.

“I received a flier for this conference on my desktop after a very painful meeting; if we had known [earlier] what we know today, we would have been in business by now,” said attendee Dr. Jacob George from Clovis, N.M., who has been working on developing an ambulatory surgery center for five years.

“I have been to a zillion conferences over the past 25 years. I thought this conference was a very well-done event,” said Paul Bryant, business manager of Lahonton Valley Surgical Associates. “The content was just excellent, the meeting rooms were perfect, the vendor participation was informative and the speakers were discussing timely subjects with expert backgrounds — who could ask for anything more?”

The Health & Nutrition Division of Virgo Publishing Inc. publishes today’s surgicenter, ICT: Infection Control Today and EndoNurse healthcare magazines and produces the today’s surgicenter conference. Other publications and events produced by the group include: Natural Products Industry INSIDER and HSR: Health Supplement Retailer magazines; SupplySide East and West trade shows and conferences; and Focus on the Future Executive Conference and Retreat.