Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1542293
10 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AI use in ASCs: Where are leaders seeing a difference? By Francesca Mathewes A I has become the center of many conversations among healthcare professionals looking to cut out inefficiencies and lessen administrative burdens for their practitioners. Here are three ways that leaders are putting AI to work in ASCs: 1. Administrative and communication tasks: "Organizationally, we are the front end of broad AI implementations that really focus first on enhancing large volume administrative and clerical tasks," Les Jebson, administrator of Prisma Health's Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute in Columbia, S.C., told Becker's. "Streamlining pre-certifications, prior-authorizations, timely patient and family member communications, linear appointment case scheduling." Cutting out administrative and clerical burdens for physicians and staff can be make-or-break for ASCs, many of whom operate independently and are more sensitive to the negative financial consequences of inefficiencies. "In the fast-paced world of ASCs, billing teams are constantly juggling coding changes, payer denials, prior authorizations and time-consuming appeals. Efficiency isn't just nice to have — it's survival," Brooke Day, administrator at Hastings (Neb.) Surgical Center, told Becker's. "That's why ChatGPT has become one of the most useful tools we've brought into our workflow. It's not just a novelty or a shortcut — it's a real solution to one of our biggest time drains: payer communication." 2. Turning data into real-time insights. Data analytics is one of the fastest-growing applications of AI in the ASC setting. Advanced analytic tools powered by machine learning are helping administrators transform raw operational data — like turnover times, case volumes and staffing trends — into real-time, actionable insights. Tara Good-Young, CEO of PDI Surgery Center in Windsor, Calif., told Becker's that refined AI analytics are improving both speed and clarity. "Advanced data gathering and analytics utilizing refined AI will give facilities and providers more granular, meaningful insight from operational and functional data, faster," she said, noting that these tools allow reports and performance reviews to occur "closer to real time," reducing delays between identifying and solving issues. 3. Disease detection and surgical precision. While the use of AI in surgical robotic technologies and other diagnostic tools is still far from ubiquitous, many specialists — including orthopedic surgeons and gastroenterologists — have already implemented it into their clinical practice. "Artificial intelligence has become part of our practice. We've deployed an AI visual interface during colonoscopy, which can help detect precancerous lesions. Coming soon, we'll use AI dictation for clinic visits and hope to use AI to scour our incoming queue to flag 'high-risk' referrals to bring them to the top of the list for scheduling purposes," Omar Khokhar, MD, gastroenterologist and partner at Illinois Gastro Health in Bloomington told Becker's. n step, regulations and logistics around radioactive materials, staffing, creating standardized protocols, radiation safety, training, so that any site could replicate our outcomes. Success really came when partners realized that they could not only expand access for their patients, but strengthen their independence by owning that service line rather than referring it out. Since then, we've grown into a national network, collaborating with urologists, health systems, ASCs across the country. But the beauty here is that every site remains local and clinically led, and that's the key to maintaining quality and autonomy. Q: As PCIA has grown, what have been the most significant obstacles — and how have you mitigated them? MA: Some of the challenges have been scaling. Gatekeepers to prostate cancer are urologists, who help navigate that patient through the ecosystem. I would say our greatest partners have been the ASC operators and owners themselves, because they see the value in what we bring. e procedure itself is super quick. We perform this procedure in under an hour, and it's very lucrative for both the performing urologists and for the technical revenues outstanding. e biggest barrier has been getting people to the table to realize this, and getting enough stakeholders involved who can have these patients navigate to the ASC setting. Q: Looking ahead, what "next-horizon" opportunities do you see for PCIA over the next three to five years? MA: We're focused on selective growth. In addition to what we do for whole-gland prostate brachytherapy, there are opportunities for focal therapy. ere are opportunities for patients who have cancer recurrence aer primary radiation therapy. Unfortunately, that can happen fairly oen. But what it comes down to is efficiency within the ASCs. We all can understand how important it is to have throughput, but with these cases being reimbursed fairly well, it does become a volume game. Supporting our partners with training and operations, and turning these ASCs into centers of excellence for prostate cancer is a completely new model that most ASCs have not really jumped into. We're looking at new geographies. Right now, most of our business is in the southwest, and we're expanding on the East Coast and leveraging our data to show how this model improves access, outcomes, and cost of care. Ultimately, it comes down to taking the best care of patients. Our long- term vision is to make PCIA synonymous with excellence and precision with cancer treatment nationwide. Q: What advice would you give to ASC leaders who want to build and scale their own network? MA: Start with the right partners, people who share your standards, your integrity, not just your spreadsheets. ings look great on paper, but a lot of times, these programs dissipate because you're not aligned. So, build the right systems before you scale. Have the right protocols and compliance training. And above all, if you keep physicians in the driver's seat, that's a winning formula. n