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SURGEONS
CUT COSTS
Specialty
center allows for office visits, surgeries and physical therapy all under one
roof
Having their cake and eating it, too, is what doctors at the Kansas City
Orthopaedic Institute in Leawood will soon be doing.
In December, they will see patients and operate in one building.
Although execs would not give revenue figures, they say the Institute
will lower operating costs, attract more business and bring more profit for the
doctors than if they each had their own private practices and did surgery at one
of the major area hospitals. And
the regular office hours will give physicians greater control over their free
time.
The concept of a freestanding orthopaedic surgical center is new to the
greater Kansas City area, but it has been tried in other cities throughout the
country. Paul Kerens, senior
executive officer for Kansas City Orthopaedic, says projections for the Leawood
center are 3,000 outpatient procedures a year and another 400 inpatient
procedures.
Charles Rhoades, a physician at the center, says they're not planning on
a lot of down time.
"We have four operating rooms which we plan to keep full," he
says. "The center will attract
many new patients and there will be a number of procedures currently done
elsewhere done at the center."
At this time, 14 physicians have agreed to work at the center.
Plans call for a 58,000-square-foot, two-story building, with four
operating rooms, four 23-hour stay beds and nine private beds, 32 consultation
rooms, physical therapy and orthopaedic rehabilitation.
"Our site will be a leader in introducing new technology,"
Rhoades says. "With this new model we are unencumbered by the
shortfalls of the past."
Steve Wilkinson, president and CEO of Menorah Medical Center in Overland
Park, says all hospitals have experienced continued change toward outpatient
procedures. Of all surgical cases
at Menorah, outpatient operations are about 70 percent and orthopaedics account
for approximately 9 percent.
But he doesn't expect the new orthopaedic center to affect his hospital's
business.
"I really would not expect it to have any impact at all on
Menorah," Wilkinson says.
Execs at Kansas City Orthopaedic say health insurance companies should be
enamored with the new center as well.
"Most managed care companies have been very responsive because
things cost less in a specialty hospital than a full-service hospital,"
Rhoades says.
Although execs would not disclose company names, they say about 10
managed care companies have already signed on with the Institute and
negotiations are ongoing with others.
Many of the contracts with managed care companies are in the worker's
compensation plans and sports medicine. One
of the managed care companies currently discussing plans with the Institute is
Kansas City, MO.-based HealthNet.
"Many of the physicians are already in our network and we are in
discussion with them about the new facility," says Cheryl Dillard, vice
president of public affairs with HealthNet.
At the Institute, doctors will have better control over their work hours
and spend less time on the road.
"There is an added convenience when your office is above the
operating room," Rhoades says.
The center will be staffed 24 hours a day for elective surgeries only.
No emergency procedures will be performed.
Also, there will be no surgeries scheduled for weekends or holidays.
Rhoades says hospitals will benefit from the venture as each will
complement the other's strengths.
"We're partners in many parts of delivering medical
care," he says. "It's a
new step in the direction of care in the 90's." --By Jennifer Gordon, contributing writer
Johnson County Business Times July 21-27, 1999 |
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Send mail to crhoades@kcoi.com with
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