Our small group recently worked with Shena to help us renegotiate an existing contract, and she was truly top-notch! We were under a time constraint and Shena was incredibly prompt and professional.
The information she provided could be easily understood by all parties involved and helped us come to an agreement where everyone walked away happy. Thank you, Shena!
As a small independent group of physicians in Texas, the three-person executive committee of our practice began considering professional assistance renegotiating a fair stipend with our hospital. After hearing attorney Judy Semo speak numerous times at ASA events and being impressed with her knowledge and professionalism, at the ASA Advance meeting in Dallas in 2022, the leaders of our group approached her asking for advice on how to obtain a consultant accessible to a small group such as ours.
She emphatically recommended Shena Scott as unparalleled in the business. We were familiar with her insightful articles in anesthesia literature and had attended many of her lectures as well but did not consider that she might be affordable for a group of our size.
After speaking with her at that meeting and obtaining her business card, we went forward with the process of data collection and were able to work with her at our convenience via Zoom and very expeditiously, she presented us with the comparative analysis we needed. Her charts and graphs very clearly showed the data, containing both national and regional norms for compensation, coverage provided, and vacation taken vs our own.
We arranged for a Zoom meeting with our group in which Shena presented the data and answered everyone’s questions, then did the same with the administration. The CMO/COO expressed numerous times afterward how well she presented the financial information as well as clarified the current anesthesia manpower shortage and the risk to them of putting out an RFP in this environment. She fielded their difficult questions in the meeting and offered options that would get us toward our goal of support and coverage.
Shena assisted in the follow-up process until the new contract was signed, with the result being a significant increase in support and stability for our group. There is no doubt in our minds that we would not have been able to accomplish this without her assistance. She is knowledgeable, professional, realistic, and easy to work with, and although we were initially concerned that the cost of a consultant would be beyond the reach of our small group, the payoff has been tremendous.
Scott Healthcare Consulting has been a tremendous asset to our practice during this round of negotiations. We are a physician-owned anesthesia group that has negotiated our own contracts over the years and did well but bringing in Shena for this round was one of the best ideas we had at Columbia Anesthesia Group. Her methodology and framework helped educate us and helped us get big, much-needed improvements in our contracts. I can’t emphasize enough how helpful she was.
Our physician only anesthesia group of forty members had never undertaken the exercise of a strategic planning retreat. I had sat in on numerous presentations by Shena Scott at the ASA Practice Management meetings over the years and thought Shena would be the perfect person to lead our group through this very important exercise. Shena is very responsive, incredibly personable, and professional. Her anesthesia management knowledge and experience are vast and just what we needed to focus our thoughts into a much-needed plan to help move our group in the right direction.
After Shena provided our group with the finished work-product, she has followed up to answer questions and to provide additional resources to help us implement the most pressing parts of our strategic plan. We are also planning to have Shena back for follow up and to help us with additional goals that were identified as priorities by the group.
Shena has been a joy to work with and I look forward to a continued working relationship with her. I highly recommend her services for your anesthesia management needs.
Faced with the financial effects of the No Surprises Act, our private practice recognized we needed outside assistance to assess our current position and to analyze our strategic options. As we looked for referrals (on a national level) the same name kept coming up. Shena performed a detailed analysis of our current staffing commitments as well as our current and anticipated profit and loss. Her expertise, availability and commitment were nothing short of extraordinary.
As we were working through this issue, we realized we also had to address CRNA-related financial concerns. Shena performed a detailed analysis of our current CRNA compensation package. She identified every area in which we both outperformed and underperformed competing groups. Using this information, and with her guidance, we were able to revise our current offer, feeling confident that we were fairly considering the interests of our shareholders and employees.
I enthusiastically add my name to the long list of Shena’s references. She is recommended as an anesthesia practice management consultant with my highest recommendation and without hesitation.
Shena Scott, CEO and founder of Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc., came into our orbit towards the end of April 2022. Following the implementation of the NSA, our practice found itself in need of someone who had the experience and background in anesthesia practice management and strategic interactions with hospital and healthcare systems administration. Within days of our first zoom interaction, we decided to use her expertise towards furthering our discussions with administration.
Shena brings a lot of energy to the process. Her experience in this business shows in every interaction. From doing a careful analysis of our practice to comparing it to local, regional, and national trends, her evaluation is spot on.
Within weeks of initiation of the process, a full and concise report was ready for presentation to our CEO. The presentation where she fielded all the questions professionally and in a nonconfrontational manner was very well received and everyone felt better informed after the presentation. While we are not done with our work, we feel comfortable in having Shena representing us. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or text or email.
Around a year ago, we were forced to look squarely in the mirror and face a harsh reality. Market forces had led our Department of Anesthesiology to an annual $4.5M shortfall. Twenty-four-hour coverage of very slow obstetric and airway services; an adverse payer mix that ballooned from 25% to 55% of our total book of business; and finally, increasing pressure from our ambulatory center accounts to share profits.
We were aware of how these factors threatened the sustainability of our practice independence. Pleas to our hospital administration for financial assistance simply fell upon deaf ears. For the first time in our history, we were dealing with attrition from our group as better offers were available with more income and better lifestyle. It became imperative to convince our administration that market demands would soon force us to choose between our profitable ASC's and our struggling hospital coverage. Having seen Shena Scott present on this very subject at national conferences, we knew where we had to turn.
Shena quickly developed a comprehensive understanding of exactly where our problems reside and how we needed to solve them. She asked us pointed questions and reviewed our financial data as well as staffing and call arrangements. In short order, she put together a comprehensive market assessment of our practice that systematically described the forces leading to our shortfall. She presented a very compelling story to our administration that convinced them how they could no longer simply ignore our pleas for assistance. Her approach and ability to understand our complicated staffing model spoke volumes of her expertise and years of experience in the practice management of anesthesia.
She then took the next logical step and outlined several options to improve efficiencies and soften the blow of the harsh reality the hospital was being forced to confront. The result of her work, in no uncertain terms, led to a new alignment between our department and hospital administration. After Shena made her presentation, they understood the reality that they would need to subsidize our work or face the possibility of closing OR's. Further, our parent hospital system leaders have asked us to align with them to cultivate similar efficiencies in some of their other hospital anesthesia departments. As we begin this work, we will be certain to call upon Scott Healthcare Consulting to analyze financial data, staffing models and find the hidden solutions to creating more efficient anesthesia departments. Thank you, Shena!
One of the things that many physicians let slide is the business aspect of medicine. Our small community based private practice anesthesiologist group, consisting of 30 physicians, is no different. Our group has unfortunately let multiple insurance contracts, and even our hospital contract, significantly lapse. Being put in charge of the group about a year and a half ago, and realizing this, the first thing I did was an extensive search for someone experienced to help us out. What particularly drew my interest was her experience, involvement with the ASA and MGMA, and testimonials.
I have worked closely with Shena over the past year and a half in this monumental task of getting all our contracts up to date. As a clinical physician, it is challenging to devote the time and attention that the business aspect of the field requires. Shena has provided excellent guidance in contract negotiations, helping increase our unit value reimbursement for each payer. Not only does she work closely with you, providing prompt responses, but she also negotiates on your behalf via email/phone/videoconference.
Additionally, Shena was instrumental in helping our group renegotiate our hospital contract. She flew out to California for an in-person presentation, provided an in-depth analysis/report for the CEO of our hospital to review. With her guidance, we secured a significant increase.
Shena has been an invaluable asset to our group and wealth of information. I highly recommend her services. My group will continue to use her expertise.
You don’t know what you don’t know. After working with Shena to evaluate and improve all our hospital contracts this year, my eyes have been opened wide, and I wish our practice had hired her a decade ago. Shena’s data focused approach and unmatched knowledge of the anesthesia staffing landscape and OR workflows quickly earn respect from physicians and administrators, making each negotiation’s end point obvious to both parties. Our board extended Shena’s initial scope of work beyond hospital contracts given her quick responsiveness and impressive abilities to tackle a wide range of anesthesia practice management challenges. I strongly urge you to add Shena to your team today — the ROI will be exponential.
It is with great pleasure that I can provide a recommendation for Shena Scott of Scott Healthcare Consulting. We are a medium sized independent practice with over 130 providers exclusively providing anesthesia services to our Health System. We, as a group, had understood for some time that our practice had dramatically changed over the previous 10 years due to the exponential growth of our community and our Health System. It wasn’t all that evident to our hospital administrators, however. As we entered contract renegotiations it rapidly became apparent that outside expertise would be necessary to not only improve the nature of our agreement but to fully educate System administration regarding the state of the market for anesthesia providers and the complexities of delivering anesthesia care today.
Shena entered the negotiations and hit the ground running. It was evident to all parties that she possessed a depth of knowledge regarding anesthesia services that was not only unmatched in the room, but likely across the industry. Shena brought perspective, market experience and most of all, data that would support our positions. Her approach was collegial and respectful which served to, very quickly, turn around what could have been a contentious negotiation into a highly collaborative one. As a result of the 9-month process our Health System has a much clearer understanding of our challenges and limitations. More importantly and thanks to Shena, they also recognize the value our group brings as strategic partners to them, their providers, and our mutual patients.
I would highly recommend Shena and Scott Healthcare Consulting, without reservation. Her wealth of knowledge and experience, in all aspects of anesthesia practice management, make her an invaluable resource. As our organization moves forward, we will undoubtedly reengage Shena to help us navigate the unforeseen challenges that lay ahead. We absolutely consider her part of our team. Thanks again Shena.
Shena helped us with our latest negotiation and fair market assessment with the hospital. She was extremely professional and well versed in the current job market for our field. She was easy to work with and went out of her way to be available in a timely fashion to the point of even calling and texting us from her vacation in Africa. Her access to the latest salary and benefits data from various surveys was essential to our success. We are tremendously happy with our decision to seek out Shena Scott and we plan to ask for her help again in a few years when it is time for our next contract negotiation with the hospital.
We reached out to Shena several months ago to assist our 250+ physician anesthesiology practice with facility contract and payor contract reviews, in addition to providing insights on adjusting physician compensation models. We have learned so much from her deep industry experience and she was able to quickly grasp our organization. With her finger on the pulse of anesthesia practices throughout the U.S., she has been invaluable in providing benchmark data which carries with it the credibility of her expertise and knowledge.
Shena is wonderful to work with – responsive, practical, energetic, adaptable and all the other work style characteristics we all seek in trusted consultants. Her analysis is very data-focused, which is consistent with the way we run our business. She has quickly become a key partner in the work we are doing to ensure long-term sustainability for our physician-owned, physician-led anesthesia practice. Even after just a few months, she has already gained the respect of our internal and external stakeholders.
I was fortunate enough to work with Shena Scott over the course of a year and it has been nothing short of a wonderful, positive experience. Our practice will continue to benefit from her creative problem-solving, tireless work ethic, and willingness to do whatever it takes for years to come.
As a colleague, Shena Scott is incredibly generous with her time and expertise to work through questions and specifics of our engagement. Her approach was always incredibly thoughtful and professional – taking the time to understand everyone’s perspective and knowledge. Shena understands the value that the relationships practices have with hospitals firsthand. She works well with leadership at all levels and takes a “grass-roots” approach to understanding the issues. With that level of engagement, Shena took our high-level data and assisted our practice in aligning our staffing that will increase efficiency and increase our revenue! This will be a true “win-win” for our practice and the hospital. Shena was able to evaluate our providers work hours in line with our compensation to compare to market standards with better data than we had access to! This process really showed where our practice does well as well as the opportunities for improvement.
Our practice feels incredibly fortunate to work with Shena and Scott Healthcare Consulting and we know who to call to further discuss our ideas! I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about my specific experience.
Working with Shena Scott has been a smooth and very worthwhile process for our physician group. She helped us understand how our governance structure could improve while guiding us through CEO succession planning strategies. Over the past several months we engaged her expertise, she was timely and made us feel like we were her only client, all while I know she carries a busy load. I would certainly not hesitate to reach out to her again for further needs as they arise.
Mohawk Valley Anesthesia Group, Utica, NY, is very thankful to Shena Scott and Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. for all the help and effort she provided during the merger of two competing anesthesia groups and a subsequent successful contract negotiation with Mohawk Valley Health System. She did a stellar job in a short period of time. She was always available and provided not only good suggestions but also did not hesitate in pointing out the negatives. Her expertise and experience helped us tremendously and all the partners are so thankful that we had engaged her services. She is thorough and very professional and MVAG would highly recommend her.
When it became apparent at renewal that our group’s agreement with the health system would undergo a complete revision, Shena was the first person I called. Having known her for over a decade, I was confident Shena would be an effective expert resource for our group and the health system, and she proved to be that and more. Shena essentially became a trusted member of our administrative team throughout the months-long duration of the process. Her depth and breadth of experience in anesthesia services management and operating room operations proved invaluable in reaching a mutually satisfactory outcome. She ably and competently engaged with our group, the health system and its advisors while leveraging her knowledge of national leading practices and benchmark data to develop a compelling case for a multi-faceted services and support agreement that will serve our group, the health system, and our patients for years to come. Our group considers Scott Healthcare Consulting to be a trusted strategic partner of our group, and I have no qualms fully and wholeheartedly endorsing Shena and her consulting practice.
We hired Scott Healthcare Consulting during an extremely contentious period to provide a detailed practice analysis and presentation to our hospital. Shena’s expertise in Anesthesia operations and subsidies was invaluable in establishing insight, and perspective, that my Hospital Administrators could digest and understand. Since her presentation, Shena’s unique knowledge and guidance has begun positive discussions between my organization and the hospital. She helped build bridges between my Anesthesia Group and the Hospital that I could not have established on my own. Her in-depth analysis not only looked at our current operational and fiscal situation, it also laid out various improvement plans going forward that were reasonable, and fair for both parties. I cannot thank Shena enough, as I personally feel her involvement has built a foundation of lasting and positive change. I consider Scott Healthcare Consulting to be a strategic partner and would recommend their services without hesitation to other Anesthesia Groups.
I had the pleasure of working with Shena for more than a year on a four-facility negotiation in Virginia. I was an internal consultant for the hospital, and Shena represented the anesthesia group. Throughout the engagement, I was consistently impressed with Shena’s subject matter expertise, professionalism, and responsiveness. Shena maintained her client’s best interest while ensuring the facilities had the data and analyses needed to make informed decisions. There wasn’t a day in the yearlong negotiations Shena wasn’t available via phone or email, and her extensive anesthesia knowledge base helped expedite the deal. I would highly recommend having her in your court!
Our independent Emergency Medicine practice had experienced rapid growth in size and service offerings over a short period of time, without a subsequent evolution in governance. We engaged Shena Scott to help guide us in matching our governance and leadership structures to our expected future state as a large, complex multi-specialty group.
Her experience and expertise were critical in setting our path for continued growth and success. Her past leadership of a large physician practice gave her credibility among the physician leaders of our group. Shena took the time to evaluate our current state, understand our future direction, and engage stakeholders within our group. Her measured, evidence-based approach won over those reluctant to alter our current structure and created advocates for positive change throughout our corporation.
As physician practices face ever-increasing challenges in healthcare, I can highly recommend Shena to help navigate the way forward. Her competencies in governance, leadership, contracting and stakeholder engagement are skills that any forward-thinking healthcare entity would benefit from. We are grateful for Shena’s assistance and believe that she has brought great value to our group as we continue to evolve and grow.
It is my honor to write this testimonial on behalf of Shena Scott, whom I have known and worked closely with for over twelve years. A brief testimonial really doesn’t give justice to her incredible talents. She is the most dependable and knowledgeable administrator I have ever met and worked with. Her nearly 30 years of experience administering a medium size anesthesia practice that transformed into a highly successful large, multispecialty practice have provided her with a robust and proven background. She was an integral part of this transformation. She is professional, responsive, and detail oriented. I have always been impressed with her analytical skills and her approach of presenting data with viable solutions. Her knowledge base and communication skills make her a gifted negotiator.
She is highly respected by both physicians and hospital administrators. In summary, I provide my absolute highest recommendation!
Our company had the pleasure of working closely with Scott Healthcare Consulting this year and I would highly recommend Shena to anyone needing an in-depth look at their company's financials and methodology. We appreciated her prompt responsiveness to our needs and her insight given to our particularly complicated situation. Throughout all of our online meetings she made all of our communication effortless and always made sure she understood the intricacies of our daily work. The proposed budget for her consultation was very accurate and we are considering using her in the future for further endeavors."
Our 40+ provider practice was formed in 2006 and provides services to a busy 500+ bed Level 1 Trauma Center. Prior to my arrival in February of last year, the group did not have a formal practice administrator. At that time, the new leadership team decided to undertake a thorough review of our status and it became apparent that the practice was in a turnaround situation. We sought an expert in anesthesia practice management who could assist us with several high-level projects, particularly revenue cycle management, compliance, corporate governance, payor contracting, and hospital contract negotiations.
Shena came highly recommended to us and, as we’ve come to find out through nearly every vendor we’ve contacted as part of our efforts in the past year, her reputation in the industry is exceptional. We were overwhelmed with the breadth and depth of Shena’s relationships with payors, software vendors, billing companies, and compliance experts. She was immediately responsive to our request for assistance and reached out to several colleagues to initiate projects on her first visit. Her commitment to our practice was clear from the start and was further made evident when she rearranged her vacation schedule midstream on short notice to permit her to fly in for continued face-to-face negotiations with hospital administration.
Although our practice was facing enormous challenges at every turn, Shena maintained a sense of calm and deliberateness and rapidly assisted us in prioritizing a set of objectives. She is extremely professional, meticulously well-organized, patient, and articulate. Her negotiation skills are remarkable. As an example, her efforts in renegotiating our existing payors contracts resulted in improvements ranging from 8.2% to 33.3% in the first year alone, even succeeding with significant increases from payors which were initially quite reluctant to negotiate at all. The benefit to our practice in terms of increased revenue over the next three years will easily exceed seven figures.
We have been working with Shena for nearly a year and can confidently recommend her to any practice with our highest compliments. In a word, she has been magnificent. The ROI for our practice has been greater than 20-fold and she has been an invaluable resource for us as we navigate the future.
Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. assisted our 45+ anesthesia provider practice during a 12-month contract negotiation that involved an acquisition of two additional hospitals as part of a new anesthesia services agreement. Ms. Scott came highly recommended to us and she exceeded all of our expectations. She was able to use her industry experience and unique knowledge to provide our organization and the hospital administration the necessary data and timely analyses to allow all parties to ultimately make a decision that resulted in a mutually beneficial anesthesia services agreement. Throughout the entire process Shena was responsive, attentive, and a consummate professional, dedicated to our long-term practice success. Despite a complex negotiation process Shena was able to rapidly respond to new requests, process and analyze various options, and provide solutions to keep the contract process moving forward. She remained calm and was able to process and articulate what steps needed to be done to provide creative solutions to the contract complexities.
Shena sacrificed personal time to ensure that urgent requests of a time-sensitive nature were given the proper attention and made herself reachable to our organization and hospital administration. The result of her hard work and dedication to our organization is an anesthesia services agreement that is reasonable and fair to both parties, and provides financial stability to our group, while allowing for hospital service line expansion and revenue growth. Our organization continues to work with Shena on practice management, financial analysis, staffing models, and additional contracts. I can, without any reservation, give her my highest recommendation. Our practice would not have the success it experiences today without her knowledge, dedication, and guidance. Scott Healthcare Consulting is a key strategic partner to our group’s long-term financial stability, allowing us to continue to focus on our primary mission of providing high quality anesthesia services.
I had the pleasure of working with Shena for over 20 years in my capacity as the CEO of a provider sponsored health plan. I met Shena when my health plan was negotiating with the anesthesia group she managed. Shena was the most formidable provider negotiator I dealt with. She was consistently well prepared, data driven, logical and tenacious. Although always a clear advocate for the interests of her group, Shena was consistently fair and interested in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. Shena is extremely knowledgeable with regards to the complexities surrounding anesthesia reimbursement and she was generous with her time and expertise when we worked together. I can attest from personal experience that Shena will drive a hard bargain for her physicians while forging a collaborative and lasting relationship with the payer.
Shena…engaging, knowledgeable, responsive and professional…earned our trust quickly, and swiftly became a natural extension of our negotiating team. Her natural, but strategic, business acumen, is complemented by masterful articulateness and superb written turn of phrase. Shena’s extensive experience as a practice administrator, negotiating contracts, and in the local market proved invaluable in our negotiations and to our outcomes.
It is a pleasure to work with someone that truly cares about the quality of the work and desires, like us, to exceed expectations. Ultimately, Shena continues to help us to optimize results and meet the changing needs of our business. We look forward to a long-term relationship with Shena and would recommend her to others without reservation.
I have been a private practice anesthesiologist for over 30 years. During the 14 years I served as president of our group, I was fortunate to have Ms. Scott as the group's Executive Administrator. We faced many challenges over the years including redesigning our compensation system, fending off a proposed company model, negotiating multiple exclusive contracts (including various forms of stipends) with our hospital system, responding to RFPs and successfully competing to provide services at "outside" facilities. Ms. Scott was instrumental in negotiating managed care contracts that consistently outperformed regional and national averages and in overseeing our high performing “lean and mean billing machine.”
In addition, she helped our physician group overcome a myriad of internal staffing and governance challenges to keep our members focused on providing high quality anesthesia services. To remain viable in today’s market, in 2013 we combined with radiology and emergency medicine to form a single corporate entity with more than 75 physicians and over 100 mid-level providers. It is no exaggeration to say that Ms. Scott was the chief architect of this incredibly complex year-long endeavor. We are now beginning our 7th year as a multispecialty group and have exceeded all expectations of success. Ms. Scott's decision to transition from the day to day management of our corporation was a great loss but we feel fortunate to be able to access her consulting services for some of our more complex issues.
I have known Shena for almost 30 years as a high-performing anesthesia executive, association leader, creative change agent, tenacious negotiator, and trusted collaborator. She has a track record as an influential, knowledgeable leader in the field who can work with disparate groups and individuals to make innovative changes. Her communication skills, both written and verbal, are excellent as are her problem-solving abilities. Shena is well-known across the country for her knowledge, leadership, and business expertise, but her greatest strengths are found in her character: integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, and perseverance.
We have written articles, conducted surveys, made presentations, collaborated to try and solve all the health-care problems of the world, and been great friends for almost three decades. I trust her counsel both professionally and personally without exception.
Shena was instrumental in helping us work through several issues with one of our hospitals. She supplied our group and the hospital with critical information regarding staffing models, local market conditions, and compensation. She also provided key metrics that assisted us in understanding operating room efficiency and its impact on our anesthesia practice.
Shena was very timely in completing the project and availed herself to discuss concerns. Her expertise and experience have been invaluable to our company.
I entrusted Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. with crafting a proposal to my employer that needed to be concise, personal, professional, and written with the authority that only experience in the field brings. Shena knew exactly how to combine these elements and added a fine demeanor that carried the proposal. I received great praise from my employer regarding the professional character of her work and I have no doubt it contributed to my proposal ultimately being accepted. I heartily recommend Shena and Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. without hesitation.
As our hospital system has grown in both size and complexity, we found our anesthesia group facing new challenges. Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. was immensely helpful as part of a comprehensive self -evaluation of our practice. The resultant appraisal identified key issues to modify our practice and negotiate changes with our systems’ healthcare administration team.