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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare
podcast, and we are live at the business
and operations of ASCs.
I'm currently joined by Nylene Flores, who is
the chief administrative officer at Lake Oconee Orthopedics.
So thank you so much for joining me
today. We'd love to have you start by
introducing yourself and telling us a little bit
more about your role. Yeah. Thank you so
much for this opportunity.
Actually, I have been in the health care
industry for about 16 years. I started in
registration at a hospital
and, have been a surgery center administrator for
the last 4 years, and I just transitioned
into running an orthopedic surgery practice
in Georgia.
Wonderful. Well, thank you for taking the time
to be here. And let's start our conversation
with ASC volume. So across the country, we're
seeing this expected to increase by at least
16%
by 2032.
So with this growth,
what are the most pressing challenges to maintaining
a positive patient experience?
Well, the case acuity we've seen
grow
that being of cases being moved to the
outpatient
space.
This has increased
the patient recovery time frame. Patients seem to
recover so much
better at home.
And, obviously,
making sure that we have the appropriate patient
population chosen to bring these cases to the
outpatient
space.
But
the challenge is that
patients are used to going to the hospital
if they're sick. So changing that model
and bringing these cases, ensuring that the patients
feel safe in the outpatient space, guided by
physicians who promote that model,
is going to assist us to ensure that
patients are receiving really good care at the,
outpatient setting.
And going along with that, what strategies have
worked for your organization to tackle this challenge?
And what's one recommendation you have for health
care leaders to stay ahead of it? Well,
stay ahead of the curve by and staying
informed and staying up with the current trends
and have physician buy in. So your physician
owners
have to be part of the game.
They have to bring their cases out patient
and have true a 100%
buy in into their business
and growing that, ensuring that they are communicating
that to their patients at the time of
their visits in the
office and then moving those cases to the
outpatient space.
And shifting gears just a little bit to
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?
Well, we know that hard it's very hard
to find
awesome people.
And when we find some awesome people, we
wanna make sure that we keep them.
And it really starts when we're talking about
finance, it really starts with every aspect of
your business office
from registration
to scheduling
to insurance verification.
We wanna make sure that all of those
positions
also have buy in to your center. We
wanna reward them
and value them in the center and ensure
that they feel just as valued as every
nurse
and every physician that comes to your center.
It benefits the patient provider relationship because if
patients are well informed as to their financial
responsibilities
and know what to expect, and are explained
that procedures are cheaper in the ASC space
than in the hospital.
They understand that we're looking out for their
best interest
and not necessarily
the financial interest of the hospital or
the doctor
or some
big company. We're really worried about them. And
that
direct communication from the staff
will help them feel at ease and ultimately
lead to a,
clean revenue stream.
Wonderful. And as we wrap our conversation up,
is there anything else you'd like to share
or any closing words you have for the
podcast?
Yeah. Other than just capitalize
on the
everything that's happening in health healthcare right now.
And to value your staff and every one
of your staff. Ensure that all roles are
appreciated
and that physicians
take an active interest in the staff,
not just in administrative leadership.
So that all aspects are brought together for
truly a great patient experience.
Wonderful. Well, Nylene, thanks so much for joining
me today on the Becker's healthcare podcast. Again,
we're live
at the business and operations of ASCs. Thanks.
Thank you.