As more physicians choose to partner with private equity to accelerate growth and build value, partnership options for market-leading orthopedic surgeons are growing rapidly. Now more than ever, successful surgeons need a physician-led and owned partner to help advance the future of their practice.
Two of the nation’s leading orthopedic surgeons, Paul Sethi, M.D., and Katherine Vadasdi, M.D., of Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists (ONS), say their recent formation of a majority physician-owned platform, Spire Orthopedic Partners, has three vital elements that are essential to the future successful orthopedic partnerships:
- Physician leadership
- Clinical autonomy
- Culture of physician collegiality
“As care delivery and reimbursements evolve, it’s critical that physicians find the right partner – a partner that allows them to spend more time with patients, shares a vision for success, and is deeply committed to value creation and growth opportunities,” said Dr. Sethi, President of the ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education. “For our practice, partnering with a majority physician-owned platform like Spire has solidified our clinical autonomy, further strengthened our already highly successful practice, and created more growth opportunities for our future.”
Based in Greenwich, Conn., Spire serves more than 50 subspecialty physicians trained at top institutions across the country. With three leading practices throughout Connecticut and New York – ONS, Orthopedic Associates of Middletown and Orthopaedic Associates of Manhasset – Spire’s physicians leverage their collective experience for better patient outcomes, clinical innovation, and education and research.
“We have been very intentional about keeping the clinical practice of medicine with physicians,” said Tim Corvino, M.D., CEO of Spire. “Physician leadership has been – and will continue to be – a central tenant of our company. We bring this to life in two ways. One, we have created a Clinical Governance Board, which creates an opportunity for our practices to remain in control of all local clinical decision making. Two, we are forming a National Practice Board of physicians that will partner with the Spire executive team to steer our larger clinical and growth trajectory.”
Physician Collegiality to Strengthen Clinical Care
In addition to clinical autonomy and physician leadership, Spire’s platform is also distinguished by a culture of physician collegiality. By being part of a larger organization that is deeply committed to clinical excellence, physicians within Spire can collaborate with more peers, strengthen the quality of care they provide patients, and go deeper into their areas of specialty.
“Within Spire, I lead a Sports Medicine subspecialty group that encompasses physicians across our three partner practices,” said Dr. Sethi. “Once a month, we come together to present complex patient cases, allowing for our colleagues to share their perspective, feedback, and advice based on their own unique backgrounds in medicine. Our team includes graduates from Columbia to Kerlan-Jobe and everywhere in between – my 17 years of experience is now hundreds through the partnerships we have built.”
One of Sethi’s partners, Dr. Katherine Vadasdi, participates in this subspeciality group and says it has benefited her greatly.
“All of our physicians work so closely together and really trust each other, and we always ensure patients are seeing the right specialist or surgeon for their condition,” said Dr. Vadasdi, Chief Clinical Officer and Director of Women’s Sports Medicine for ONS. “If a patient comes in with a sore shoulder and neck, I collaborate directly with a spine specialist and physical therapists in our network to address each issue. As surgeons, we are trained to be very specialized. As orthopedists, we are trained to care for the whole patient. Our team lives this out through bringing together our expertise that improves overall care.”
The Future of Successful Partnerships
Orthopedic medicine is rapidly evolving as new technologies advance patient care. A majority physician-owned platform like Spire that’s dedicated to clinical excellence and physician leadership represents a blueprint for future success. And, a partnership with Spire creates more growth opportunities than individual practices can capture on their own.
“Spire’s goal is for us not to just grow, but really to thrive. They want to create meaningful opportunities for us to continuously expand our practice and capabilities for the long-term,” said Dr. Vadasdi.
Spire Orthopedic Partners is backed by Kohlberg & Company – a private equity firm based in New York dedicated to investing with integrity into innovative, growing companies – and continues to seek partnership opportunities across new and existing markets. For more information on Spire and its benefits to practices, visit spireortho.com.