its more than just sleep, in the sleep center€¦ · •patients can be hesitant to ask the...

ITS MORE THAN JUST SLEEP, IN THE SLEEP CENTER

BY STEVEN FINCHNo….Really.

ABOUT ME• Operations manager of Family Entertainment Centers.

• Director of Operations Arizona Grand Medical Center and EZ Sleep Lab. 3 locations 13 beds

• Worked for a total of 4 sleep labs

• 14 years in sleep medicine

• Regional Sales Manager for a DME

• Sales/ Marketing

• Business Development

• Currently at MaineGeneral Medical Center as Practice Administrator Pulmonology, Sleep Clinic, Sleep Lab, PFT and EEG. Revamped Sleep Lab.

• My passion is to Figure Things Out.

THE FUTURE OF SLEEP MEDICINE

THE FUTURE OF SLEEP

• Insurance driven shift in patient demographics.

• Will see much sicker patients.

• How to handle the heavier workload and sustain excellent patient care?

• Sleep Lab and COVID prepreation

HOW TO HANDLE THE MORE COMPLEX PATIENTS AND SUSTAIN

EXCELLENT PATIENT CARE?

• Get creative

• Will require additional support for sleep technologists. Night time support

• Remove on the fly scoring.

• Decrease cleaning responsibilities.

THE REFERRAL PROCESS

• It should be smooth and seamless.

• Time it takes for the referral to be processed. Within 24 hours is ideal.

• What is your time from completion of the sleep study to interpretation?

• Examine the process

• Referral cheat sheets, make their lives easier.

COMMUNICATION

• Lunch and learns.

• Who is the direct contact (Liaison)

• Build trust with referrals

• Say what you do, more importantly do what you say.

• Follow up, Follow up and follow up.

METRICS FOR TRACKING

THE INFAMOUS NO SHOWS

THE INFAMOUS NO SHOWS

• How to decrease no shows and increase encounters?• Increase volume and gross revenue.

• Auto confirmation calls.

• Educate patients of COVID mitigation strategies.

• HSAT, disposable options.

EDUCATION IS NOT JUST FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT/ NO

SHOWS • Who is educating the patient?

• When does that education need to happen?

• What happens when the patient has questions or concerns? To save that appointment.

WHERE IS THE REVENUE?

INCREASE REVENUE

• It is a necessity to schedule to capacity

• Decrease the now show rate

• Decrease now show rate = Increase capacity = increase revenue

• Round with employees to understand challenges

• What is the volume, under or over capacity and FTE’s

DECREASE WASTE

• First….track supply usage and waste

• Educate technicians of proper use

• Technicians to document waste per night.

• Disposable supplies?

HOW I DECREASED THE NO SHOW RATE

• Educated patients that have no questions show up

• Patients can be hesitant to ask the Physician questions

• Decreased the no show rate from 20-25 per month to 4 per month

• It does not matter if you schedule to capacity

• Sleep Technologists began confirming patients

• Do not want to lose shifts

• Can answer all questions related to their sleep study

• Immediately build trust

• Patients feel more comfortable and willing to keep their appointment

• Sleep Technologists don’t lose shifts

• It’s a win win!

SLEEP LAB REVENUE 2016-2019

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Monthly Revenue Per Year

January February March April May June July August Sept October November December

SLEEP LAB ANNUAL REVENUE

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Fiscal Year Fiscal Year to February

ENCOUNTERS

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Fiscal Year Variance Budget

REVENUE

PATIENT SATISFACTION AND THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE

• There has been a major shift in patient care.

• The differences have implications for quality improvement in healthcare.

• It is vital we understand the distinction between the two.

• Patient satisfaction is directly determined by the patient experience. Its not only about meeting their expectations. It is about how they feel after the appointment.

PATIENT SATISFACTION

• Meeting the patients expectations for his or her encounter.

• A subjective healthcare measure.

• Patients can receive the exact same care, with differing satisfaction levels. Having differing expectations.

PATIENT EXPERIENCE

• The range of interactions the patients have with the health care system.

• We all play a part.

• Scheduling (Phone)

• Patient service representative

• Medical Assistant

• Provider

• Anyone who comes in contact with that patient.

SLEEP LAB PATIENT EXPERIENCE

• More contact with less people.

• Sleep Technologist play a huge role.

• Trust

• Communication

• Comfort

• Education and understanding

SALES/ MARKETING

• You do not know what service to sell unless you understand the need

• Understand what referrals are struggling with

• What challenges are they having with other sleep centers? Identify what those are and do them better!

THANK YOU!