Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1472295
20 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP ance companies. We also have cash prices now. So there are many patients in America today without insurance at all who need care. A number of them will come to us and say, "Well, what's your cash price for surgery?" So we have a cash price, which we think is reasonable. Q: Large orthopedic groups and MSOs are branching out in the South. How will Spine Cen- ter Atlanta remain competitive? JC: e key today is you have to be better than your competition or you have to be willing to do something that your competition doesn't re- ally want to do. For us, I do a lot of failed spinal surgery, and many of those patients will come from long distances. at's one area that keeps us competitive. I like to say that we're sort of the Neiman Marcus or Saks Fih Avenue of medical practices. By that I mean we spend time and we don't rush patients through. We try to give quality care, give patients the time they need and deserve. So especially if someone's going to be paying out of network or paying cash, they're going to get the extra time that a lot of the other practices just don't have the time to give. If you're in a Medicare in-network practice, you've got to really keep the wheels turning. You've got to maximize the number of patients and surgeries you're doing each day. So there isn't a lot of time in practices like that for the art of medicine. Q: What are the top healthcare trends you are following today? JC: e biggest trend I'm following is a corporate takeover of healthcare in America today. I'm in- terested in watching hospitals are hiring their own surgeons and develop vertically integrated systems. I'm watching the care that the patients are getting in these types of institutions. We see so many pa- tients that come to see us because they're not happy with that type of care. I think the other thing that's interesting to watch right now is private equity groups are starting to buy more and more practices and developing megagroups. I think eventually they're going to be in direct competition with hospitals because they're buying practices and surgery centers. So we're starting to see a dichotomous healthcare sys- tem developing the vertically integrated hospital- based systems and then the more private practices that are getting purchased by private equity groups and consolidating. I think we're going to see more and more of that. Q: Who do you think will win, hospitals or mega- groups? JC: I think hospitals will win because of the fact that they have to treat everything. ey're going to be your go-to place for emergencies, and a lot of insurances are going to force patients to those ver- tically integrated systems. I don't know that some- times you'll necessarily have a choice as a patient, but I think that the more quality surgeons are going to stay in private practices and will probably be part of the more integrated private-equity groups. n