Becker's ASC Review

38 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Leaders say these trends will boost ASCs' outlooks By Riz Hatton P ursuing equal payment to hospital outpatient departments and using technology to increase efficiency are among the trends healthcare leaders recommend ASCs adopt. Three healthcare leaders connected with Becker's to answer the question: "What trend should ASCs jump on next to be successful?" Editor's note: Responses were edited lightly for clarity and brevity. Richard Bruch, MD. Board Chair of North Carolina Specialty Hospital (Durham): ASCs should pursue equal payment compared to hospital outpatient department rates. ASCs must perform quality reporting and cost accounting. The quality is there, it just needs to be reported and cost accounting rules have not yet been set to please MedPAC and Medicare. John Hilinski, MD. Owner and Medical Director of John Hilinski Facial Plastic Surgery (San Diego): [ASCs] should jump on technology adoption for making day-to- day operations much more efficient. Software programs that have been developed, such as Surglogs, should become integral to all surgery centers. Eventually, the federal government [Medicare] should be able to tap into these software programs to help reduce the burden of compliance and accreditation as well. Steven Schwaitzberg, MD. Chair of Surgery at UBMD Surgery (Buffalo, N.Y.): If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us to be more nimble and thoughtfully bold than we ever thought was realistic. I think the two trends that [ASCs] should be looking at is outpatient bariatric surgery with definitely moving sleeve gastrectomy and endoscopic sleeve gastrectomy into the ASC and selected gastric bypasses. The most important trend to be followed along with this is to negotiate win-win pricing rather than just outpatient pricing for the ASC since these patients need a lot of care. Equally possible would be outpatient right colectomy. ASCs will need to be able to be able to hit bundled pricing by dealing with issues such as rehydration and the need to keep people out of emergency rooms unless absently necessary. n ASCs, regional expansion are key growth opportunities for large orthopedic groups: 7 practice leaders weigh in By Alan Condon M ore large orthopedic groups are snapping up smaller practices and considering regional expansions to increase their economies of scale and grow their presence in new markets. New paths into value-based care and risk-sharing models are also top of mind for orthopedic leaders in addition to recruiting physicians and adding new sites of service. Seven orthopedic practice leaders shared how they are looking at growth: Note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity. Aaron Johnson. CEO of Twin City Orthopedics (Golden Valley, Minn.): We're always in growth mode, and that speaks to the culture and personality of our physicians. We have several projects that are about to begin or are already underway. We'll be opening a new facility in Plymouth, Minn., that will include a five-OR surgery center — that will be our newest addition from an ASC standpoint. Construction is just getting started, and that is anticipated to open in the fourth quarter of 2023. We are evaluating several other markets as well. With that expansion, we also need to recruit more physicians. We're looking outside of Minnesota. You're seeing other orthopedic groups looking at growing regionally and even nationally. We expect to be the local orthopedic provider of choice, and that will evolve into a regional play for us as well. Never take your eyes off the core goal, which is patient care, but we plan to continue to grow TCO and the brand so we can take the excellent care we're providing to our current patients and bring that to new patients in other markets. Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD. President of Rothman Orthopaedic Institute (Philadelphia): We're expanding pretty rapidly. When we think about expansion, we examine a particular geographic location and what the orthopedic landscape is like. Some areas have a great orthopedic landscape; the communities are being serviced well, they've got great value-based programs and surgeons that buy into that philosophy. If that's the case, we feel that we may not provide further value. We go into places that may be a little bit behind when it comes to innovative value- based bundled payment programs, outpatient ambulatory care services, or there is fragmented care delivery. ose are prime markets we think are appropriate to expand into. Nicholas Grosso, MD. President of the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (Bethesda, Md.): e biggest opportunity for growth lies in the shi to the outpatient setting. Here in Maryland, there are a significant number of one-room outpatient centers. We can increase efficiencies while remaining accessible for patients and providers alike by consolidating some of these existing surgery centers into multiroom facilities. Michael Doyle, CEO of Florida Orthopaedic Institute (Tampa): FOI was built around the foundation of clinical excellence through education and research and is home to some of the highest regarded orthopedic surgeons in the world. Our focus will continue to be on partnering with like-minded, best-in-class surgeons across the country who share a common desire to advance the practice of orthopedics and build a multigenerational business that is the destination of choice for highly skilled orthopedic surgeons.

• Cover