At VMG Health, we’re dedicated to sharing our knowledge. Our experts present at in-person conferences and virtual webinars to bring you the latest compliance, strategy, and transaction insight. Sit down with our in-house experts in this blog series, where we unpack the five key takeaways from our latest speaking engagements.

1. Can you provide a high-level overview of what you spoke about at the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association Conference and Expo? 

The title of my presentation was Anatomy of a Deposition.  My co-speaker, Will Miller, from Higgs Fletcher & Mack in San Diego, and I discussed what a deposition is and how it fits into the steps of a lawsuit from patient injury to subpoena, the discovery phase and the trial itself.  We discussed how to prepare for a deposition, the possible ramifications of not utilizing an attorney in the process, and how to answer questions during a trial honestly while learning from your lawyer’s cues. For example, if you’re asked a question and your lawyer objects and says the question is vague and ambiguous, you might take that as a hint that you need to ask for the question to be rephrased before you respond.

2. What do you think the audience was the most surprised to learn from your presentation?

I received feedback from someone who was there, and they said that the presentation was a great reminder to pay attention to their documentation practices. It’s important not to get complacent with the documentation and to ensure nursing staff document what they need to while watching the scope of practice and licensure of themselves and other employees at the facility. You must always be cognizant of whether they’re functioning within their licensure or certification, and this course was a great reminder of that. 

3. How do you think your presentation helped healthcare leaders better prepare for challenges? 

I’ve already heard from a few people who are taking this information back to their surgery centers, and they’re educating their staff on proper nursing documentation as well as risk management, and giving them a little taste of what a deposition might be like. The two cases we highlighted in our presentation included documentation issues, such as not documenting on the correct form, not adding post-op score accurately, and lack of physician orders. These issues highlight why staff must pay attention to what they document and be sure their medical record tells the story of the patient experience. Leaders can use this information to show their staff what improper documentation looks like to a jury, how it ruins credibility, and the importance of proper documentation.

4. What resources would you suggest for those interested in learning more? 

ESupport is an annual subscription for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and it includes a host of resources: updated policies and procedures, a forum where they can write to and learn from a consultant, tools they can use in just about every aspect of their ASCs, and continuing education modules. Specific to this issue, we have a one-page training document on nursing documentation and an hour-long webinar that dives deeper into the topic.

Within ESupport, there’s also a risk management page that talks about more than just depositions; it provides a nice overview of what risk management is and some of the tools that people can use in their risk management program.

Our parent companies, BSM Consulting and VMG Health, also provide excellent resources for ASCs, from certification and accreditation to transaction valuation.

5. If someone takes only one message from your presentation, what would you want it to be?  

Go back to Nursing Documentation 101. The rules have not changed, so go back to the basics. Make sure you document everything going on with your patients. Your documentation should reflect a patient’s story; if I read your medical record, it should tell me everything that happened with that patient during their episode with you. 

Our team serves as the single source for your valuation, strategic, and compliance needs.  If you would like to learn more about VMG Health, get in touch with our experts, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn.  

At VMG Health, we’re dedicated to sharing our knowledge. Our experts present at in-person conferences and virtual webinars to bring you the latest compliance, strategy, and transaction insight. Sit down with our in-house experts in this blog series, where we unpack the five key takeaways from our latest speaking engagements.

1. Can you provide a high-level overview of what you spoke about at the American Bar Association Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference? 

I spoke with King and Spalding attorney Kim Roeder on different, hot-button issues that arise when structuring and valuing different value-based arrangements. It started off as a presentation of different case studies and focused on what Roeder has encountered from a legal perspective and what I have encountered from a valuation perspective. We often receive questions when it comes to structure or even value drivers, and we wanted to present solutions to what we saw or clients struggling with so that they could develop a better understanding of them.  

2. What do you think the audience was the most surprised to learn from your presentation?

The focus on the metrics themselves and how carefully they need to be considered seemed to be the most surprising. Recent regulations have been really focused on metrics, and that’s what we get the most questions about. I think our audience was also surprised to learn that Kim had experienced those questions as well, and metrics aren’t just a consideration on the valuation perspective. Both legal and valuation perspectives must carefully consider metrics. 

3. How do you think your presentation helped healthcare leaders better prepare for challenges? 

Our presentation was a very pragmatic way of illustrating six key issues that often come up during valuation. It’s a great resource for healthcare leaders to reference as they go through and check the boxes to ensure they have thought through all of the considerations that we often see as eleventh-hour issues. 

4. What resources would you suggest for those interested in learning more? 

I co-wrote a section of the 2023 Physician Alignment: Tips and Trends Report that discusses quality incentives for providers. It captures key factors to consider, from a valuation perspective, when looking to enter value-based arrangements and where to start.  

5. If someone takes only one message from your presentation, what would you want it to be?  

Value-based arrangements require a very orchestrated balance between legal and compliance, operational champions, and valuation teams. Operational teams should be able to focus on what changes and improvements they want to implement, valuation teams must have an understanding of those goals, and legal and compliance must be involved to ensure the approach is appropriate and compliant. Without cohesion between these three groups, we see those eleventh-hour issues pop up. 

Our team serves as the single source for your valuation, strategic, and compliance needs.  If you would like to learn more about VMG Health, get in touch with our experts, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn.