by
Heather Mayer, DOTmed News Reporter | October 11, 2010
Hospitals stand to gain the most by turning to a DSO, Soffer says. He points out that they can save millions by turning to a third party for help. While practices can face the same challenges as hospitals, they can make decisions quicker, without the burden of hospital boards.
The client perspective
The chief of cardiology at Jackson North Hospital in Florida and brother of Avi Soffer, Dr. Ariel Soffer, turned to a DSO — UND — to strengthen his nuclear cardiology lab.
“[The nuclear lab] happens to be the number one revenue source but also the number one cost outside of HR,” says Ariel.
He points out that before the days of poor reimbursement payments, a strong nuclear lab would do well and didn’t really look at the costs.
“Now that reimbursement has dramatically been reduced, costs become a big issue,” he says. “There are a lot of moving parts within [a nuclear lab].”
By hiring a DSO to take care of the inner workings of his lab, Ariel says costs are down and patient satisfaction is up.
“We found that by ‘insourcing,’ we can control major costs and focus on getting more patients…seen and put into the lab as opposed to worrying about the subtleties of the cost structure,” he says.
While the number one perk of using a DSO in a nuclear lab is the cost savings, says Ariel, the runner-up is the “ease of use.” The DSO companies take care of everything, from technicians to service.
“The [DSO] is motivated to be efficient,” he explains, otherwise it would lose the account.
“It is just a beautiful thing,” Ariel says.
Back to HCB News
