Surgical Directions in the News
As hospitals and health systems face rising anesthesiology subsidies, workforce shortages and increasing procedural demand, leaders are taking a closer look at what is actually driving the cost of coverage.
In a recent Becker’s ASC Review article, “Who’s pocketing the anesthesia stipend money?”, Surgical Directions was cited for its approach to connecting anesthesiology stipend costs directly to operating room utilization.
Becker’s highlighted Surgical Directions’ adjusted utilization model, which evaluates OR performance against a 75% utilization target. While many hospitals operate between 50% and 65% adjusted utilization, the financial impact of that unused capacity can be significant.
As Becker’s reported:
“Fixed anesthesia overhead can run about $2,300 per operating room per day.”
At one hospital analyzed by Surgical Directions, unused capacity across 23 operating rooms represented approximately $4 million in annual anesthesia expense tied to capacity that was already staffed but not fully utilized.
The implication for hospital executives is important. Rising anesthesiology stipends are not solely a workforce or contract negotiation issue. OR scheduling, surgeon access, block utilization, coverage requirements and procedural demand all influence the economics of anesthesiology.
Improving utilization can help hospitals make better use of existing coverage, reduce unnecessary staffing expense and create additional surgical capacity without adding operating rooms.
Read the full Becker’s article: Who’s Pocketing the Anesthesia Stipend Money?
Explore the Surgical Directions analysis cited by Becker’s: Increase OR Productivity, Cut Anesthesiology Stipend and Boost Hospital Profits
Looking Beyond the Stipend
For health system leaders, the larger question is not simply how much anesthesiology coverage costs. It is whether the organization’s operating model is getting the maximum clinical and financial value from that coverage.
Surgical Directions helps hospitals and health systems evaluate anesthesiology strategy, OR utilization, coverage models, governance and surgical access together to identify opportunities to improve performance and protect surgical growth.
