Hospitals now face their largest challenge ever – recovering from the economic impact of Covid-19. A good majority of revenue for Hospitals is surgical procedures – mostly outpatient. How does an organization begin to make up the losses that were experienced? The first answer is to conduct a risk assessment.
Organizations should begin planning, if not started already, to determine how much volume and strain can be placed on surgical capabilities. Risk assessments should take into consideration some of the following:
1) Personal Protective Equipment – access and availability for PPE in order to return surgical services to pre-Covid 19 response
2) Staffing – does the department/unit have adequate staffing to resume 100% capacity
3) Facilities – can the HVAC and other utility systems handle surgical services if the organization has adapted physical space for Covid-19 patients
4) Demand – is there a high demand for outpatient surgical procedures by patients / if not, how does confidence get restored so demand increases
5) Marketing – how does the organization advertise/market that the surgical environment and outpatient environment are clean and safe as it has been
6) Sterile Processing – if demand is high and the surgical schedule is full or over-loaded; how much strain does this place on the Sterile Processing Department
In order for hospitals to make a smooth transition back to full surgical services capacity, a risk assessment is necessary. Simply reviewing processes or listening to provider request will result in unexpected consequences. Those consequences can be minimized if a little planning by a multi-disciplinary team from across the organization occurs. If your organization needs assistance with conducting a risk assessment, please contact us at 704-573-4535, email us at info@courtemanche-assocs.com or visit our website at www.courtemanche-assocs.com.