ASCs Share 2022 Accomplishments & Lessons Learned, 2023 Goals

By Randy Bishop, President and Chief Executive Officer, Surgical Notes

The end of 2022 is here, so it's time to reflect on the year that was while looking forward to the year ahead. To learn about the 2022 experiences and 2023 objectives of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) throughout the country, we continued a Surgical Notes annual tradition for the past six years: We reached out users of "The Note Pad," the online community of surgery center professionals exclusively for Surgical Notes clients, and asked them to share their thoughts with us. As has always been the case, our community came through for us.

Below is a selection of responses we received from ASCs. Their responses have been lightly edited for clarity and style.

Q: What is an accomplishment your ASC achieved in 2022 that stands out?

• "We set in motion plans to purchase a new ASC."
• "We grew our center."
• "Our ASC achieved reaccreditation for our center of excellence."
• "We renegotiated two major managed care contracts."
• "We further streamlined our inventory and ordering to keep supply costs down."
• "Our ASC successfully implemented bundled payments with a large employer group."
• "We switched our payroll processor to offer better apps and service for our employees."
• "We passed our Joint Commission survey."
• "Our ASC set a new high for case numbers."
• "We successfully navigated another year with COVID."

Q: What is one lesson your ASC learned in 2022?

• "Creative staff scheduling is necessary with the new workforce."
• "We need to be very mindful of work-life balance."
• "There's no need for us to maintain a workers' comp managed care contract. It turns out that workers' comp pays less than our state fee schedule."
• "Good employees are key to everything we want and need to do."
• "Employee turnover can be quite straining for other employees."
• "Being flexible is essential to maintaining a happy workforce."
• "Don't overlook the importance of maintaining proper staffing levels."
• "Good coworkers are a blessing. We are truly fortunate to have a great work family."

Q: What goals does your ASC have for 2023?

• "Update our training manual and conduct more employee recognition/appreciation events."
• "Achieve AAAHC reaccreditation, add more robotics procedures, and add an EMR."
• "Pass The Joint Commission survey again. We were accredited for a short period of time and will be resurveyed."
• "Grow our surgical volume."
• "Continue to improve staff and patient satisfaction scores."
• "Add more cases."
• "Keep up the good work. We would be happy to repeat our 2022."

We are grateful to all the ASCs that took the time to participate in our annual survey. We are also grateful for our clients — and all ambulatory surgery centers — for continuing to be the leaders in delivering high-quality, lower-cost outpatient surgical care. Surgical Notes will continue to support its clients and the ASC industry as we work together to make 2023 our best year yet!