Physician Recruitment at Your Ophthalmic ASC: The Basics

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Physician Recruitment at Your Ophthalmic ASC The
Basics Theres a classic line in the movie Jaws
when Sheriff Brody says Youre gonna need a
bigger boat. Remember that? If you own or
operate an independent ophthalmic ASC, you
probably know exactly how he felt when he uttered
those words. That bigger boat was essential to
keeping Brody and his shark hunting trio from
being dragged out to sea by their great white
menace. Likewise, your center needs to take steps
towards bigger to avoid being pulled under by
the market forces working against independent
ASCs. One way to step up and hook the big
onesproductive surgeons, more complex cases, and
bigger profitsis with a robust physician
recruitment strategy. But bringing on new
surgeons isnt easy, warns Rena Courtay, who
spoke about physician recruitment at the
Ambulatory Surgical Center Associations 2017
annual meeting. Physicians are increasingly
seeking employment within health systems,
reducing the talent pool available to independent
centers while making those hires more expensive.
Plus, some hospitals and health systems are
actively working against ASCs in bids to keep
their casesand their surgeonsin-house, Courtay
says. Physician recruitment and retention is
something that requires constant attention, she
emphasizes. You cant just address it once a
quarter like you could a strategic plan. More
than ever now, with the competition, you have to
be a growth-oriented leader to sustain continued
success at your ASC.Rena Courtay Successful
Physician Recruitment Starts Here Your reason
for adding an ophthalmologistto boost case
volume, increase capital investments, add
subspecialties, or replace a departing surgeon
affects your physician recruitment strategy.
Before starting your search, discuss why your
center needs a new provider with all of your
canters stakeholders, based on an analysis of
the ASCs needs. Then, outline the skills and
necessary certifications candidates must have
before soliciting any applications. Next,
Courtay suggests asking yourself What exactly is
my physician customer buying when they choose
to utilize my center? Its no longer enough to
promote fast turnover and good outcomesthose are
now baseline qualities, she notes. Your value
proposition will vary depending on your market,
and it may be easier to develop in some markets
versus
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others, but you have to have one, emphasizes
Courtay. Think about the strengths and advantages
your center has over others Exclusive
Equipment Doctors love shiny new objects,
quips Courtay. Patient Care If the patients
get great care and great outcomes when theyre
there, the physician is going to come back. If
they dont, youre going to have the opposite
problem, she says. Your Staff You can lose
doctors over the staff you have at your center.
Or, you can gain doctors because of the staff you
have at your center, Courtay notes. Pooled
Knowledge/Innovation What unique procedural
capabilities does your center have? What might
you be able to do differently than some of your
competitors? Work-Life Balance This is a big
draw, especially for younger physicians. They
dont want to work 70 hours a week like the older
physicians, and they dont want to work in a
hospital where their cases are being bumped
constantly, and have no control, observes
Courtay. If youre having trouble creating your
value proposition, consider conducting a SWOT
analysis. Laying out your centers strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can help
you organize all of the internal and external
factors that affect your ability to attract
physicians. Physician Recruitment Next
Steps The concept of sales often gets a bad
rap. But the reality is that successful physician
recruitment means selling potential physicians on
the benefits of your facility. Everyone is
selling your center. Receptionist. Patients. The
anesthesiologist who is there every day. Medical
Director. Everyone, says Courtay. Every person
on your staff is really selling, because whatever
their job duty is, whether its good or bad, its
going to impact the selling of your facility.
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• To succeed at physician recruitment, you must
  incorporate sales into your centers everyday
  operations. This happens in a few ways
• Know Your Market
• Yes, the local market where your ASC operates,
  but also your physician marketevery
  ophthalmologist whos capable, available, and who
  is not currently bringing cases to your facility.
  To get to know that market, youll need to focus
  on relationship-building. Courtay offers these
  tips
• What I see in a lot of sales calls, sometimes
  administrators get so excited and they get in
  the office and theyre just talking nonstop and
  the physician is just sitting there, Courtay
  observes. Youre gonna lose that physician in
  about two minutes. So let the physicians do most
  of the talking. They usually want to talk about
  themselves anyways, like most people, she jokes.
• Independent ophthalmologists are struggling to
  maintain that independence, and you need to
  understand their long and short-term goals. They
  tell you so much about their practice you might
  be able to help them, notes Courtay. If they see
  you as a trusted partner, it helps build your
  credibility, which could encourage them to align
  with your center.
• Tap Your Resources
• Vendors and sales reps can have an amazing amount
  of knowledge about the ophthalmologists in your
  market, especially if theyve been in their field
  for a long time. They spend a lot of time with
  their physicians, and get to know the physicians
  personalities, OR preferences, likes and
  dislikes, even hobbies and interests.
• Know Your Product
• You cant be an expert on everything, but you
  need to at least know enough about the
  operations across your center so that you can
  sound confident and intelligent when youre
  talking to physicians. Physicians are smart,
  observant, and data-driven people. They
  physicians know whether youre a credible
  person or not. It doesnt take them very long to
  figure that out, notes Courtay.
• Staffs Roll in Physician Recruitment
• Your staff can make or break a physicians
  decision to come to or stay at your center, says
  Courtay. Recruiting works best as a team, so look
  for ways that staff members from all levels and
  positions in your center

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physicians includedcan support your efforts. I
always have the director of nursing come and
spend time with recruits, said one ASCA
attendee, a financial manager. His center also
has a physician champion who plays a similar
role, meeting with recruits and joining in when
the recruits tour the center. And dont forget
to reward your staff as a team. Several attendees
opt for equal, team-based incentives to encourage
all staff members to bring their best. One
attendee bases staff bonus on their case volume
per month. Each staff member gets an equal bonus,
and it engages every single teammate at the
center to want to sell and do more volume, he
reports. Another attendee implements a
profit-sharing bonus, where all staff members are
eligible.