From new technology to value-based care, 10 leaders joined Becker's to discuss what they're most excited about.
Neal Kaushal, MD. Chief of Gastroenterology and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Adventist Health (Sonora, Calif.): I'm most excited about new developments in technology, data and analytics, which are increasingly essential tools in operating successful ASCs. In addition to providing safe, quality clinical care, ASCs are most effective when running efficiently and driving revenue generation. To accomplish this, however, is no easy task. That is why leveraging resources and even third-party companies to optimize ASC performance is such a fascinating up and coming industry.
Neeraja Kikkeri. CEO of North Texas Team Care Surgery Center (Mesquite): I'm excited to see the ASC space grow and meet more needs of an educated public patient population. Meaning, more people will use the ASC as their choice of facility versus a hospital.
Douglas Wisor, MD. CEO of National Spine & Pain Centers (Rockville, Md.): Very excited that we are diversified across [musculoskeletal] and beginning discussions with value-based care organizations with higher numbers of Medicare Advantage so that we may enter into preferred provider relationships by lowering their cost to deliver care and promote meaningful savings as owners of [value-based care] contracts.
Jeany Dunaway, RN. Administrator at Effingham (Ill.) Ambulatory Surgery Center: We started our total joint program in 2021 and have had a slow start, but I'm really excited to see the program ramping up as both the surgeons and our staff become more comfortable with the processes. It's exciting to see the excellent results our patients are experiencing and how pleased they are with our services.
Catherine Retzbach, BSN, RN. Director of ASC Operations at Virtua Health (Marlton, N.J): What is most exciting is the opportunity to expand services offered in an ASC. As CMS allows more procedures to be performed in centers, it gives centers the option to be open for more procedures. Cardiology and spine procedures offer patients more options to have procedures be performed in a high quality, low cost environment.
Michael Patterson. President and CEO of Mississippi Valley Health (Davenport, Ind.): I am excited about opportunities for volume growth as we continue to see migration of procedures into the ASC setting. Technology advances are driving some of this growth, and that creates both opportunities for better care for patients as well as long-term revenue opportunities for the ASC industry. When we have the opportunity to combine better care at a lower cost, then everyone wins.
Mihir Patel, MD. Treasurer of Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy (Indianapolis): I am most excited about the growth of health technology companies, in short, health tech. Four years ago, I was most excited about AI reducing back office burdens for providers and those technologies are being deployed across the medical spectrum. From improving care models to continued improvements in devices and administrative procedures, health tech is only just beginning.
Shannon Parisi O'Leary. Regulatory Compliance Manager for Southwest Ohio Pain Management (Mason): I am most excited about the opportunity for growth at our ASC. That also makes me nervous, because we are very small and run a very efficient day-to-day operation, which we want to keep running as such. With the addition of new service lines, it will allow for more opportunities for growth as an ASC and as employees, which is the most exciting of all.
Mark Hood. CEO of Spine Team Texas (Southlake): I'm most excited about our development and expansion. We're continuing to expand; we have a five-year plan to increase our physician group by about 30 percent and hopefully establish a couple of new sites. Hopefully that's going to involve another ASC. Part of the reason we're expanding our physician group is because we want to help support and drive more volume to our ASCs, and we're also in the process of moving more to spine surgery in those ASCs. It's a pretty big project, but we're excited about it.
Rick Ngo, MD. Founder and General Surgeon of Texas Surgical Specialists (Fort Worth): I'm most excited about the transition in healthcare from fee-for-service reimbursements and payments to value-based payment. I think it's important to have not just volume, which is the quantity aspect; too often the quality aspect has been undervalued. The value-based system, although it'll hurt some positions that are mainly about volume, it'll be a big contributor to the improvement of more accessible and affordable surgical care, and hopefully all kinds of care.