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This is Graceland Keller with the Becker's Healthcare
Podcast, and we are live at the business
and operations of ASC's events. I am joined
right now by doctor Michael Rudler, who is
an orthopedic surgeon at Connecticut Orthopedics. So, doctor
Rudler, thanks for joining me today. We'd love
to have you start off by introducing yourself
and telling us a little bit more about
your role in the ASC space. Well, thank
you. And then you've you've already done a
pretty good job introducing me. I'm I'm Michael
Redler. I'm an orthopedic surgeon with Kinetic Orthopedics.
I specialize in sports medicine and upper extremity
surgery. But I also, very involved in the
business of ASCs,
both in terms of running them efficiently and
watching their growth. And, it's been my pleasure
not only to speak with you, but frankly,
to have, now lectured here at Becker's Healthcare
Meetings probably over 15 years.
Wonderful. Well, thanks for taking the time to
be on the podcast today. And let's start
our conversation
off with ASC volume. So this is increasing
across the country, and it's expected to increase
by 16 percent by the year 2032.
So with this growth that we're seeing, what
is the most pressing challenge to maintaining a
positive patient experience?
You know, I think that's a great question
because, you know, if you go back 15
years ago, the idea of doing some of
these bigger surgeries in ASC was very foreign.
Now it's mainstream, and this is now the
desired location
to do even major surgeries.
The challenge is to make certain that as
volume increases,
that each patient still has a great experience.
And what I mean by that is that
they have a friendly staff that greets them.
They don't feel like a number. They feel
very confident in their anesthesia staff. They're allowed
to recover in a comfortable way,
and, they have all their questions answered. And
I think that
one of the things we that are in
the ASC world have to do is make
certain that regardless of the increased volume,
that every patient that comes in gets that
individual care
and that every patient is known not just
as a broken part or as a case,
but as truly an individual. And if those
patients are known as individuals and they feel
that way, they're gonna do better with that
care.
Absolutely. And going off of that,
what strategies have worked for your organization to
tackle some of the challenges you're facing? And
what's one recommendation you have for health care
leaders to stay ahead?
So I think that as we do
higher acuity cases
at ASCs,
we need to make certain that we have
the technology that we need, that we can
do so, however, in a fashion that is
still affordable,
that we have the very best anesthesia.
And that is so important for ASCs as
higher acuity cases go because of the fact
that
you want these patients to go home comfortable.
You don't want patients then having to be
admitted to hospitals. And so that making certain
that you make a priority to have the
very best regional anesthesia, the best anesthesiologist,
so they can have the most comfortable experience
with their surgery. They're gonna wanna come back.
They're gonna wanna have their families come back
there as well.
Absolutely. I mean, shifting gears just a little
bit toward the financial side. How can leaders
ensure their staff are well equipped to help
patients navigate the financial aspects of care? And
how does this benefit patient provider relationships?
It's an interesting question because
as health care providers, we're not that used
to talking about the finances of health care.
But it's a reality.
And every patient will have some financial
demands that will come with their surgical experience.
Dealing with those upfront,
not making that something else that's going to
cause more stress is going to be really
important.
And we can't shy away from that discussion.
We've got to help them to navigate that
as well so they can concentrate just on
the recovery.
So making certain that everything has been cleared
with their insurance company ahead of time, making
certain that if they have a deductible, they'll
anticipate what's going to happen ahead of time.
And the good news for most patients is
that ASCs generally are going to be the
higher quality,
lower cost alternative. So we're already headed in
the right direction. But you have to have
just frank discussions with it. It shouldn't be
that
foreign subject that no one wants to bring
up. And if you do so and you
do so in a non threatening fashion but
in a helpful fashion,
patients will feel more comfortable navigating that with
you as their ally.
Absolutely.
And as we wrap our conversation, is there
any closing remarks you'd like to share on
the podcast today?
Look. I I'm always so pleased to speak
at Becker's Healthcare because it truly is at
the forefront of care, and especially when it
comes to the business of ASCs.
The ASC market has changed tremendously,
and part of that is because of the
fact that we can do these cases are
much more involved. Patients can go uncomfortable.
The technology just keeps getting better and better
in terms of what we can do to
make patients comfortable. And if we can do
that, we can ensure great outcome. We can
ensure great patient satisfaction,
and this can be a win win situation
all the way around. Wonderful. Well, doctor Redler,
thanks for joining me today on the Becker's
Healthcare Podcast. Again, we're live at the business
and operations of ASCs. Thanks so much. Thank
you, Grace. It's always a pleasure. You're a
fabulous interviewer.
Thank you.