Keys to a Successful Anesthesia Practice and How Vigilant Medical Billing Services Can Help

In the complex and ever-evolving field of anesthesia, practices face numerous challenges that require strategic management and expert support. To thrive in this demanding environment, anesthesia practices must focus on three main management challenges: generating consistent and sufficient cash flow, recruiting and retaining qualified providers, and maintaining a symbiotic relationship with their facilities. Here are the keys to a successful anesthesia practice and how Vigilant Medical Billing Services (VMBS) can help.

Key 1: Generating Consistent Cash Flow

Revenue Challenges

One of the greatest challenges for anesthesia practices is generating enough revenue to recruit and retain a qualified staff of providers. Several factors contribute to this challenge:

• Payer Mix: As the American population ages, Medicare rates negatively impact revenue potential. While some practices can negotiate favorable commercial payer rates, Medicare and Medicaid often offset their impact on the net yield collected per unit. Despite the best efforts of billing companies to optimize collections, maintaining practice revenue is a never-ending battle.
• Cost of Providing Care: The current manpower shortage creates a competitive environment for anesthesia providers. Attrition is a significant factor as practices strive to retain their best providers and recruit replacements. Physician and CRNA compensation has been increasing, but the biggest challenge is replacing those who leave for more favorable work situations.
• Hospital Subsidies: As the gap between practice revenue and provider compensation grows, most practices rely on their facilities to fill the gap. Hospital subsidies have become key to success, but many hospitals are pushing back on anesthesia subsidies, which can threaten the survival of private anesthesia practices.

Key 2: Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Providers

Staffing Challenges

Anesthesia staffing can be particularly daunting. There is no one way to coordinate physicians and CRNAs, and many common models exist. Practices in the west often prefer a physician-only model, while those across the rest of the country prefer a care-team model. The current manpower shortage has its greatest impact on finding the right compensation package given the workload and culture of a given practice.

• Manpower Shortage: There is a clear shortage of anesthesia providers in the country today due to various factors including the pandemic, an increase in anesthetizing locations, and provider lifestyle choices. By 2033, the anesthesiology workforce may experience a shortage of approximately 12,500 anesthesiologists, representing nearly 30% of the current staff. Currently, the workforce comprises 42,264 active anesthesiologists and 56,000 active CRNAs. This shortage impacts practices by increasing compensation demands and provider attrition, making recruitment and retention ever more challenging.
• Provider Employment Decisions: Money is not always the primary factor in a provider’s decision to leave a practice. Every provider must ultimately decide on an appropriate balance of income and lifestyle. Factors such as workload, job security, and the stability of the practice's contract with the facility play significant roles.

Key 3: Maintaining Symbiotic Relationships with Facilities

The Hospital Contract

A clear hospital contract with reasonable financial support is key to practice survival. The financial terms of the contract must anticipate all the factors mentioned above and often require the assistance of qualified financial advisors to prepare revenue projections, practice financial requirements, and a Fair Market Value assessment to ensure compliance.

• Negotiating Contracts: Managing payer contracting and the revenue cycle for collections is challenging, but negotiating a reasonable contract for anesthesia services is a specialized exercise requiring experience and a detailed understanding of current market conditions.

Reasonable Strategies to Manage Staffing Challenges

Practices facing staffing issues have three options: reduce services, find ways to provide services more efficiently, or request additional stipend support from the facility. Reducing services is not desirable, while efficient service delivery may involve changing the staffing model. Requesting additional support often requires convincing the administration of the need for higher compensation, emphasizing that anesthesia is an essential service.

Monitoring Budgets

Every anesthesia practice should closely monitor its budget. Recruiting new providers with more generous compensation packages will impact overall provider compensation, particularly given the growing impact of Medicare and Medicaid discounts. Long-term thinking and strategic planning are essential for sustainable success.

How VMBS Can Help

VMBS provides specialized expertise in anesthesia billing and coding, ensuring claims are accurately processed and compliant with the latest regulations. This reduces the risk of denials and delays, allowing practices to receive payments promptly. VMBS also offers comprehensive revenue cycle management services, from patient registration and insurance verification to claim submission and payment posting. VMBS helps practices maintain consistent cash flow by optimizing billing processes and maximizing reimbursement.

Conclusion

The keys to a successful anesthesia practice lie in generating consistent cash flow, recruiting and retaining qualified providers, and maintaining symbiotic relationships with facilities. Vigilant Medical Billing Services (VMBS) offers the expertise and support needed to navigate these challenges effectively. By partnering with VMBS, anesthesia practices can optimize their operations, maximize reimbursement, and ensure long-term success.

Contact VBMS today to discover how we can help your practice thrive in a competitive healthcare market.

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