The prices of orthopedic implants can cause drastic variation in the cost of routine surgeries, and startup OptioSurgical aims to address that, Denver Business Journal reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. Ryan Mughal launched OptioSurgical in 2017 to make it easier for providers to know the price of products amid increasing pressure to lower costs. Without this transparency, he said, hospitals and surgery centers end up over-ordering and overspending.
2. Through OptioSurgical, physicians can track medical devices and integrate them with electronic medical record systems to manage waste, compare vendor pricing and find savings opportunities.
3. OptioSurgical is initially focusing on for-profit surgery centers. Mr. Mughal plans to introduce the system to the hospital market once it gains a substantial number of surgery center customers.
4. The startup has about 20 customers so far, including Springfield, Mo.-based Medical Consulting Group, which manages 55 surgery centers across 27 states.
Medical Consulting Group Managing Principle Rob McCarville told Denver Business Journal it's difficult to track prices without the software because "medical device companies will often obfuscate pricing."
5. OptioSurgical charges a monthly subscription fee, which is based on surgery center size. Mr. Mughal claims the company can find close to 20 percent in savings on average.
6. Austin, Texas-based orthopedic trauma surgeon David Laverty, MD, is an investor in OptioSurgical. The company has raised about $1 million in seed money.