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ASC Management Archives - Page 8 of 8 - Pinnacle III

Sep 02
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What Does It Take to Run an Effective ASC Board Meeting?

By ASC Governance No Comments

We sat down with Rick DeHart, Principal Partner for Pinnacle III, to gain some advice on what it takes it run an effective ASC board meeting. Rick enlightened us with his 25 years of experience in the ASC industry managing governing boards and running effective meetings. Here is what he had to say:

  1. Preparation is key. Create a detailed, organized agenda that covers the appropriate items needed for board approval and/or discussion. Thoroughly understand your presentation items, such as monthly and quarterly financials. Anticipate questions from stakeholders.  Be prepared to clearly respond with clarifying information.  Conduct a detailed review ahead of time with your team to ensure everyone is familiar with the information that will be presented.                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  2. Send out the agenda in advance. Once the agenda has been created, it is important to distribute it to board members at least 24-48 hours prior to the meeting. This allows everyone time to review the information and/or request additions or changes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  3. Be organized. Make the best use of the limited time you have available with your board members.  As the leader of the meeting, organizing meeting items appropriately will allow you to cover everything on the agenda and allow for discussion that will lead to sound decisions. Sequence materials in a fashion that is easy to find; avoid putting together packets of information that send everyone scrambling to find their place.                                                              
  4. Stay on task. You will have approximately 90 minutes at most before people lose interest. If possible, consider scheduling meetings for an 1 ½ hours or less.  Keep questions defined and answers focused. Take questions at the end of each agenda item before moving on to the next section.  Restrain yourself and meeting participants as much as possible to ensure you do not go off on tangents!                                                                                                                                             
  5. There will be times when you cannot answer certain questions in the meeting or need to research items further. In those cases, follow up with an email to board attendees noting you are looking into those questions and will provide answers in the near future.  If you are not prepared to respond with meaningful information, don’t wing it!  It’s better to delay a response to ensure it is correct, rather than provide an immediate response that is poorly articulated or, even worse, contains inaccurate information.                                                                                             
  6. Debrief with your team following the meeting. Decide on appropriate next steps and determine if further research is needed to handle unaddressed inquiries.  Assign follow-up items to the appropriate team-members. Keep an eye on whether or not follow-up items are being handled in a timely fashion.  Don’t over-manage the process but be available to step in when necessary.

Feel free to contact Rick for more advice on managing an effective governing board meeting or anything else related to running your ASC: rdehart@pinnacleiii.com.

Aug 31
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Picking a Line: Leadership Lessons I Learned from Mountain Biking

By Leadership No Comments

Recently I was mountain biking and thinking about near/far vision. Near/far vision, or focus flexibility, is the ability to change focus from a faraway object to a nearby one, or vice versa. It is vital in a variety of sports.

That same skill is also vital for managers. Not, of course, in the sense of being able to assess a rock or root in front of your wheel as you are setting yourself up for a turn in the trail. But in the sense that your ability to clearly assess what is in front of you, and adjust accordingly, impacts your longer term goals and results.

For example, a physician showing up late for cases is similar to a rock dislodged by another trail rider careening directly into your path. You weren’t expecting it but you suddenly have to deal with it. Not only do you need to relay that information to those who are immediately affected, you have to determine how to minimize its impact on the schedule for the remainder of the day.

Another example – you are reviewing month end accounts receivable data and notice a marked increase in Medicare cases for the month. Ideally, you will use that information to predict the impact the change in payor mix will have on the facility’s available cash in the future.

Perhaps you are budgeting for the new total joint surgeon who “does everything like everyone else.” However, when they arrive and start performing cases, you learn their medication costs are significantly higher than your other physicians. There goes your budget! Now you are scrambling to minimize the impact going forward.

On second thought, maybe it is exactly like avoiding the rocks in your path or sending yourself headlong into a tree!

In the past I worked with young mountain bike racers helping them assess their near/far vision. I taught them exercises to improve their focus flexibility. As managers we can teach ourselves to look for the changes in our business that can knock us off course. We may have to chart an alternate route, but we don’t have to allow the bumps in the road to interfere with accomplishment of our goals. Furthermore, as leaders we can work with our teams to help them understand the importance of constant attention to what is happening now and teach them how doing so can positively impact their results.

By Robert J. Carrera – President and CEO