Becker's Spine Review

28 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Twin Cities' new CEO on consolidation in orthopedics, value-based care & growth in 2021 By Alan Condon T win Cities Orthopedics, a 144-physician group based in Golden Valley, Minn., named Aaron Johnson CEO in October, succeeding Troy Simonson in the role. Mr. Johnson spoke to Becker's Spine Review about his focus for 2021, rising industry con- solidation and bundled payments for spine and total joints. Question: Congratulations on your new role. What prompted this move? Aaron Johnson: Part of the reason for my tran- sition into CEO for Twin Cities is due to the growth of some of the other areas of our busi- ness. Our management company Revo Health has seen significant growth, even throughout the pandemic, as well as our iHealth Collabo- rative, an independent multispecialty practice we're forming in the Twin Cities metro area. ere are a lot of exciting things going on at TCO and it's my responsibility as CEO to con- tinue our focus and strategy there. Q: What are the key areas you will be focusing on in 2021? AJ: We're going to continue to focus on our value-based care initiatives and continue to grow our outpatient total joint program. We are doing Medicare total knees now in an outpatient setting. We're hoping total hips will be moved onto the ASC list soon so we can accommodate those procedures at our ASCs. We want to build on our strong quality outcomes and patient satisfaction scores and continue to provide care in a COVID-19-safe environment. We know this virus is going to continue to be around for a while. We're positioned well for growth. We've con- tinued to focus on that throughout the pan- demic. I know a number of groups have put a hold on physician recruitment efforts, which we haven't done whatsoever. We also have a number of construction projects that are ei- ther underway or going through the due dili- gence process for market expansion. 5 joint venture ASCs involving spine surgeons in 2020 By Alan Condon S ince the beginning of the year, Becker's has reported on one joint venture surgery center involving spine sur- geons that opened and four more that are in the works: 1. In January, Lighthouse Surgery Center in Hartford, Conn., opened as a joint venture between Hartford-based Saint Fran- cis Hospital and Woodland Anesthesiology Associates, and a group of orthopedic and spine surgeons. The $26 million surgery center includes six operating rooms and 26 pre- and postoperative suites. 2. Macomb, Mich.-based Grass Lake Surgery Center is being developed between Jackson, Mich.-based Henry Ford Alle- giance Health and local orthopedic and spine surgeons. 3. A group of spine and orthopedic surgeons are also devel- oping Precision Surgery Center in Macomb, Mich. Both joint ventures are de novo ASCs in partnership with Smithfield Sur- gical Partners, a healthcare management and development company. 4. Appleton, Wis.-based ThedaCare broke ground on its $144 million Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Center in August. ThedaCare merged with Appleton-based Hand to Shoulder Center of Wisconsin and Neenah, Wis.-based Neuroscience Group to develop the center. 5. Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare and Delaware Neuro- surgical Group filed a notice of intent with state regulators in October to consider the development of a joint venture spine surgery center. The ASC would cost $4.8 million and have six operating rooms. n Former orthopedic practice owner gets 5 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids By Alan Condon A Kentucky physician has received a five-year prison sentence and must forfeit $12,275 for illegally prescribing opioids at a time when he did not have a legitimate medical practice, the Lexington Herald Leader reported. Scotty Akers, MD, a physiatrist and former owner of Pikeville (Ky.) Sports, Spine & Joint Pain Center, used Facebook to sell prescriptions for opioids without per- forming proper physical exams on patients, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Akers' clinic closed in 2016, according to the re- port, and he continued to write opioid prescriptions for former patients. The DOJ said the physician and his wife, a former of- fice assistant, exchanged prescriptions for cash in local parking lots. Dr. Akers wrote prescriptions to almost 9,000 hydroco- done or oxycodone pills between November 2017 and May 2018, after the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure launched an investigation into his prescrib- ing practices. His wife was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. n

• Cover