Scaled Surgical Coordination to Meet Growing Volume Goals

Select Results

• Increase in Scheduled Surgeries Per Coordinator Since 2019

• Increase in Surgical Volume

• Surgeries Scheduled Per Coordinator Per Month

The Challenge

• Inadequate patient follow-up resulted in missed surgical opportunities and revenue loss.

• Surgeries were booked across multiple systems, causing inefficiencies and staff frustration.

• Coordinators had to keep multiple calendars in sync – error-prone and a major driver of preventable cancellations.

The Outcome

• Increased surgical volume by 4.8% through a more reliable and trackable workflow.

• Freed significant staff time – 25% reduction in manual steps.

• Faster reimbursements by enabling surgeons to submit CPT codes via the Surgimate App.

• Accelerated the number of surgeries scheduled per coordinator per month.

Meet the Heroes of Our Story

Juli Donohue

Clinical Manager

“I’m a big fan of Surgimate. It was a good implementation.”

April Hersick

Clinical Director

“I can’t say enough great things about Surgimate – from the support staff to our direct contact Christine, who not only addresses urgent needs but helps bring my vision to reality.”
“I don’t know how you could choose not to use Surgimate. We don’t plan to stop growing.”

The Challenge (Expanded)

As South Bend Orthopaedics (SBO) expanded, surgical coordination became increasingly complex. One surgery required navigating multiple systems, syncing several calendars, and tracking critical details on printed forms. Scaling this was nearly impossible.

Their EHR (athenahealth) lacked a surgical workflow. Doctors could create surgical orders, but everything else – forms, letters, scheduling steps – was manual and inconsistent by surgeon. Paper folders exchanged hands whenever someone was out. Preventable cancellations likely ran high, but the team was too overwhelmed to track them.

When Juli brought Surgimate to the board, they immediately approved implementation, recognizing its ability to prevent revenue leakage and streamline CPT code submission.
Their response: “Do it! Don’t just pursue it – do it!”

Implementation

Juli was impressed by how well Surgimate handled surgeon-specific customization.

“Now that we’ve used it this long, I don’t even remember what was custom and what was out-of-the-box.”

A notable example: a surgeon who was extremely particular about print formatting.

“He was difficult about it, but you worked with me. We got to 98% of his requirements.”

While the handoff to Customer Success was bumpy, April says the current CSM relationship is excellent:

“We love when the Surgimate team visits on-site. We always learn more.”

Did You Know?

SBO generates 6,153 forms every month.
Surgimate’s Form Generator prints, emails, or faxes forms in seconds with 100% accuracy.

Greater Efficiency + Increased Patient Focus = Higher Surgical Volume

What SBO Has Achieved With Surgimate

Increased Patient Focus

With Surgimate reducing scheduling time, coordinators now spend more time educating patients and following up on candidates who need additional guidance. E-sign capability will further enhance the patient experience.

Improved Employee Onboarding

Surgimate simplifies training for new coordinators. April can monitor workload, spot constraints early, and support coordinators managing high-volume surgeons.

Continued Process Improvement

Increased volume allowed SBO to centralize tasks and improve efficiency – such as hiring a dedicated role for clearance follow-up. They plan to expand Surgimate into injection and MRI scheduling, continuing to unlock new workflow gains.