Becker's Spine Review

26 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT U.S. Orthopaedic Partners plans to grow brand, double in size in 2022 By Alan Condon B irmingham, Ala.-based Andrews Sports Medicine & Ortho- paedic Center is the latest practice to join U.S. Orthopaedic Partners, a private equity-backed management services orga- nization in the Southeast. U.S. Orthopaedic Partners was formed in October 2020 aer FFL Partners invested in Jackson-based Mississippi Sports Medicine. Now its six affiliate practices operate 22 locations across Mississippi and Alabama, and the platform aims to double in size by the end of 2022. Graham Young, vice president of mergers and acquisition at U.S. Orthopaedic Partners, spoke to Becker's about the platform's growth strategy, consolidation in healthcare and the new era of private equity in orthopedics. Note: Responses were lightly edited for style and clarity. Question: Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center is arguably the biggest coup for USOP in terms of a brand. Was this a deal that had been in the works for a while? What were the keys to getting it over the line? Graham Young: is is our sixth acquisition, our first being Missis- sippi Sports Medicine in Jackson. We identified a group like Andrews Sports Medicine Orthopaedic Center. Our focus at USOP is driven by our platform practice, Mississippi Sports Medicine. We're laser focused on quality patient care, superior outcomes and a commitment to edu- cation. Mississippi Sports Medicine has two fellowship programs, so from a fellowship standpoint, a practice with a global reputation for ex- cellence in sports medicine and orthopedic care like ASMOC was very attractive as a partner. Furthermore, the fact that it also has a sports medicine fellowship that is recognized as one of the top programs in the country certainly met an alignment of our values. e trend of consolidation in healthcare is not new, but private equity as a vehicle for consolidation in orthopedics is relatively new and help- ing orthopedic surgeons fully understand the impact, the benefits and what life is like post-partnership and post-acquisition is a process. We began conversations in Q2 and were able to move forward with a letter of intent in Q3 and close this partnership in December. Q: What does USOP hope to achieve through partnering with a practice like Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center? GY: When we look at the success that we've had over the last 12 months — completing six acquisitions and signing a letter of intent with two additional practices — I think there are many facets of our platform that have contributed to that growth and to attracting a practice like ASMOC. e main one is that we are fairly selective in our partnership process, which starts with our physician partners — the ones under the USOP partnership umbrella. ey're looking to align with other surgeons who share their commitment to superior patient quality, commitment to research and world-class education. is enables us to build a strong brand and to attract best-in-class physicians or practices, which is something that attracted ASMOC — to be affiliated with a platform that is selective in how it targets other potential partners, not just expanding for the sake of expanding and is very specific about the way we do that. What ASMOC will contrib- ute to USOP is certainly additional brand recognition, sharing in the commitment to fellowship training and in the data collection capabil- ities they have. Combining that with what is being done at Mississippi Sports Medicine will only increase the awareness of the USOP brand. Right now, we're in Mississippi and Alabama and the other two prac- tices are within that geography, so that will be eight practices in total. Q: Are there plans to expand into other states? GY: We plan to expand our footprint into other geographies within the Southeast and the Midwest. Our focus is really to place an empha- sis on operational efficiencies that improve patient access and data collection capabilities — neither of which are state-specific — but being able to use advanced opportunities for our partners in outpa- tient surgery is also a central focus, and that is something that can be limited by state restrictions. We're attracted to states where there are opportunities for the orthopedic surgeon-owner to be able to own an ASC where they can perform outpatient surgery, which is a benefit to patient satisfaction, outcomes and lower cost. ose are some in- sights into how we target where we want to move next. Q: How do you approach conversations with potential partners? GY: ere are areas of the state or region that do not see consolida- tion occurring at the rate that it is. If you step back and look at it from a bird's-eye view — which is what someone in my position is able to do — you can see that consolidation is occurring very, very quickly. My role is not to convince physicians that consolidation is occur- ring. If they're not convinced of that now, then there's not much else we can do. Private equity just offers another avenue for con- solidation and oentimes we find that when a practice is interested in some type of consolidation opportunity, it's usually too late. It's past the point where they have options. What we're trying to do is proactively have discussions with practices that have options on the table and present this as an option should they see the value in it like our other partners have. "We plan to expand our footprint into other geographies within the Southeast and the Midwest. Our focus is to place an emphasis on operational efficiencies that improve patient access and data collection capabilities." Graham Young, VP of M&As, U.S. Orthopaedic Partners

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