Earl Anderson is the CEO of Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics in Knoxville.
Mr. Anderson will serve on the panel “What Gives ASCs a Competitive Edge” at Becker’s ASC Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference on Oct. 27-29 in Chicago.
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Question: What is the smartest thing you've done in the last year to set your organization up for success?
Earl Anderson: At the physician practice level, we have established some pretty robust measures and tools that aid our physicians in making appropriate site of service decisions. Along with that, we are closely monitoring ASC utilization and reporting that data to the physicians. This has yielded a significantly higher level of ASC utilization for clinically qualified patients.
Q: What are you most excited about right now and what makes you nervous?
EA: As opposed to some 20 years ago when providers tried to take on risk, we now have data that aids in strategy around negotiating contracts with payors and employers. We have a much clearer view of our costs and financial risks these days and are able to establish and monitor clinical pathways. I am nervous about the pace in which this is progressing and providers need to be careful not to go down the path of several of the bundles we traveled which was a race to the bottom.
Q: How are you thinking about growth over the next 12 months?
EA: We see growth in the ambulatory setting, not only in ASC procedures, but also in office based procedures. We need to demonstrate value at all levels of care.
Q: What will healthcare executives and leaders need to be effective leaders for the next five years?
EA: Coming out of the pandemic, we are waking up to a paradigm shift in our healthcare delivery systems. This will call for different forms of strategy, alignment and flexibility. It calls for leaders who are laser focused on these changes and how they may need to reinvent themselves to survive.
Q: What is your strategy for recruiting and retaining great teams?
EA: We obviously try to keep up with the market in terms of salary, but we also are putting a lot of focus on having a good two way communication with our people. We use a tool that allows us to do once a month check-ins with team members which measures performance, but also focuses on things such as work-life balance and peer level relationships. Two thirds of our employees are millennials and younger, so a different approach to employee relations is necessary.