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forward /beccherspodcast.
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 doctor Omar Kokar, who
is a partner at Illinois Gastro Health. So,
doctor Kokar, thanks for joining me today.
I would love for you to take a
moment to introduce yourself and talk a little
bit more about your work in the industry
as we get started here.
Thanks for having me, Grace.
I'm a full time gastroenterologist
in Bloomington, Illinois.
So in addition to doing colonoscopies
and endoscopies all day, I also serve as
medical director and chairman of our board at
our surgery center down in Bloomington, Illinois.
Wonderful. Well, thanks for being here.
Let's start our conversation today discussing ASC volume.
So this is expected to increase by 16%
across the country in 2032.
With this growth, what is the most pressing
challenge to maintaining a positive patient experience?
That is a very good question because there
are so many competitive pressures now
to
increase volume, to maintain productivity
that we actually just had this conversation this
morning with my administrator on how to make
sure a patient doesn't feel like they're being
herded in and herded out.
And so we've talked about
how do we create the coffee
house experience
at our surgery center? How do you create
that experience for someone who
most of the time, doesn't want to be
there?
They're there
to get diagnosed or feel better.
And
so it's a challenge,
but it's something that we have to do.
Otherwise, patients won't
won't come to our surgery center. They'll pick
somewhere else. So it is a top line
priority for us.
Absolutely.
And going along with that, what strategies have
worked for your organization to tackle some of
these challenges, and what is one recommendation you
have for health care leaders to stay ahead?
I think embracing technology. I think one of
the things we're looking at is
development of an app or a text message
service that patients can enroll to when they
are scheduled for their procedure,
which can then tell them at the two
week mark
to hold your blood thinner. At the three
day mark,
start your diet changes. At the twenty four
hour mark,
start taking your bowel preparation.
At the six hour mark, so on and
so forth. So that reduces your cancellation rate,
your no show rate.
So I think embracing those kind of technologies
is really helpful.
Anything necessary now that they're available.
Absolutely. And shifting gears slightly toward the financial
side, how can leaders ensure their staff are
well equipped to help patients navigate the financial
aspect of care, and how does this benefit
patient provider relationships?
That's a good question, and it's challenging because
of the way we are compensated and the
way patients make their payments.
It's not something that clinicians ever talk about
with their patients.
And so
I think it's one of those things that
transparency
is key.
When they are being scheduled at a surgery
center,
they should know upfront these are the possible
costs involved,
making sure that
if we do a biopsy, if we do
something more advanced,
there may be an additional cost.
So there's no surprises.
So I think transparency is important.
Absolutely. And as we round out our conversation
here, is there anything else you'd like to
share on the podcast today?
I think the main thing that I've been
learning about today and that I emphasize going
forward is making sure we continue to have
the conversations with the payers
so they understand how important ASCs are
in the ecosystem so that patients can get
the care they need
upfront to be preventative
rather than being reactive. And so I still
think there's some
dialogue that needs to happen
so they understand how important ASCs are.
Wonderful. Well, doctor Kokar, thanks for joining me
today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Again, we
are live with the business and operations of
ASCs.