There are multiple benefits to having a wide spread of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) placed all around the world. (As of 2018, there were more than 5,700 ASCs in the United States alone.)

Having ASCs reduces the travel burden for patients and caregivers, as well as medical professionals. Patients can have a surgical procedure at an outpatient facility and then recover at home, surrounded by friends and family. And, in many cases, surgical procedures performed at ASCs are more cost-effective than those done in hospitals.

However, that doesn’t mean that ASCs don’t face unique and difficult challenges, especially when it comes to technology.

The Cost of Doing Business

According to a recent survey, less than 55% of ASCs utilize electronic health records (EHR) systems (though vendors suspect this number to be much lower). Compared with the industry-at-large general adoption rate of EHR technology (86% – 96%), this means ASCs may be falling behind, with personnel still processing a LOT of documentation and coding on paper. Among survey respondents who use an EHR, 73% would recommend it to other outpatient facilities, citing occupational efficiency as a top reason for adopting this technology.

So why the delay in implementing this established technology? Simply put, it costs money to retain the staff needed to install and operate new technology, and the technology itself can seem pricey. In the long term, however, a properly outfitted EHR can save you money. Clerical errors, for instance, are not an issue with EHR software.

“ASC financial struggles are often associated with filing for and receiving proper reimbursement,” explains Jeanine Watson, senior manager of ambulatory surgery in the Nursing Education department at AORN. “If the wrong CPT code is used, the charge can be way below what the contracted rate for the case should have been.”

In other words, it potentially costs more money NOT to use EHR systems.

Making Your EHR Work for You

Out-of-the-box EHR solutions are not always equipped with the most current or comprehensive perioperative procedure codes. They often require a product enhancement – like AORN Syntegrity® - to work effectively.

“The Standardized Surgical Procedure List of CPT codes is worth its weight in gold for ASCs,” says Watson. “In my previous center, we didn’t find out the wrong code was billed until the case was denied, or worse: paid at the lower rate.”

Time is money. And while you may be thinking that adding AORN Syntegrity on top of adopting an EHR will cost too much time and money, rest assured that AORN Syntegrity implementation can be streamlined with support from our informatics team. There’s minimal burden on staff or consulting IT professionals to get you up and running with our accurate – and cost-saving – codes and documentation content.

Request a free consultation today.