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forward /beccherspodcast.

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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare

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podcast, and we are live at the business

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and operations of ASCs.

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I'm currently joined by doctor Omar Kokar, who

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is a partner at Illinois Gastro Health. So,

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doctor Kokar, thanks for joining me today.

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I would love for you to take a

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moment to introduce yourself and talk a little

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bit more about your work in the industry

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as we get started here.

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Thanks for having me, Grace.

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I'm a full time gastroenterologist

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in Bloomington, Illinois.

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So in addition to doing colonoscopies

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and endoscopies all day, I also serve as

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medical director and chairman of our board at

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our surgery center down in Bloomington, Illinois.

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Wonderful. Well, thanks for being here.

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Let's start our conversation today discussing ASC volume.

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So this is expected to increase by 16%

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across the country in 2032.

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With this growth, what is the most pressing

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challenge to maintaining a positive patient experience?

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That is a very good question because there

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are so many competitive pressures now

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to

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increase volume, to maintain productivity

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that we actually just had this conversation this

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morning with my administrator on how to make

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sure a patient doesn't feel like they're being

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herded in and herded out.

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And so we've talked about

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how do we create the coffee

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house experience

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at our surgery center? How do you create

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that experience for someone who

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most of the time, doesn't want to be

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there?

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They're there

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to get diagnosed or feel better.

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And

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so it's a challenge,

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but it's something that we have to do.

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Otherwise, patients won't

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won't come to our surgery center. They'll pick

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somewhere else. So it is a top line

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priority for us.

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Absolutely.

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And going along with that, what strategies have

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worked for your organization to tackle some of

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these challenges, and what is one recommendation you

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have for health care leaders to stay ahead?

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I think embracing technology. I think one of

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the things we're looking at is

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development of an app or a text message

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service that patients can enroll to when they

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are scheduled for their procedure,

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which can then tell them at the two

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week mark

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to hold your blood thinner. At the three

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day mark,

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start your diet changes. At the twenty four

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hour mark,

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start taking your bowel preparation.

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At the six hour mark, so on and

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so forth. So that reduces your cancellation rate,

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your no show rate.

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So I think embracing those kind of technologies

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is really helpful.

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Anything necessary now that they're available.

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Absolutely. And shifting gears slightly toward the financial

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side, how can leaders ensure their staff are

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well equipped to help patients navigate the financial

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aspect of care, and how does this benefit

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patient provider relationships?

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That's a good question, and it's challenging because

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of the way we are compensated and the

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way patients make their payments.

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It's not something that clinicians ever talk about

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with their patients.

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And so

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I think it's one of those things that

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transparency

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is key.

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When they are being scheduled at a surgery

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center,

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they should know upfront these are the possible

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costs involved,

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making sure that

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if we do a biopsy, if we do

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something more advanced,

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there may be an additional cost.

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So there's no surprises.

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So I think transparency is important.

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Absolutely. And as we round out our conversation

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here, is there anything else you'd like to

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share on the podcast today?

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I think the main thing that I've been

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learning about today and that I emphasize going

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forward is making sure we continue to have

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the conversations with the payers

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so they understand how important ASCs are

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in the ecosystem so that patients can get

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the care they need

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upfront to be preventative

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rather than being reactive. And so I still

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think there's some

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dialogue that needs to happen

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so they understand how important ASCs are.

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Wonderful. Well, doctor Kokar, thanks for joining me

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today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Again, we

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are live with the business and operations of

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ASCs.