1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,560 Hi, everyone. This is Lucas Voss with Becker's 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,319 Healthcare. Thanks so much for tuning in to 3 00:00:04,319 --> 00:00:06,879 the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. It's great to 4 00:00:06,879 --> 00:00:09,619 have you. An exciting conversation today about reimagining 5 00:00:09,759 --> 00:00:11,939 revenue cycle leadership, and I'm so 6 00:00:12,414 --> 00:00:12,914 excited 7 00:00:13,294 --> 00:00:15,235 to be joined by doctor John Policondriota, 8 00:00:15,615 --> 00:00:18,435 CEO of South Florida Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. 9 00:00:18,975 --> 00:00:20,734 John, thanks so much for being here today, 10 00:00:20,734 --> 00:00:22,815 taking some time for us. No. This is 11 00:00:22,815 --> 00:00:24,574 wonderful. I've been looking forward to this. I 12 00:00:24,574 --> 00:00:26,414 love what you guys do, and thanks for 13 00:00:26,414 --> 00:00:28,239 thanks for having me on. Yeah. It's great 14 00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:30,079 to have you. If you wanna just start 15 00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:31,679 off with a little bit of an introduction 16 00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:33,520 to yourself and and your work in health 17 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:34,979 care. Yeah. Absolutely. 18 00:00:35,679 --> 00:00:38,399 I've spent my career at the crossroads of 19 00:00:38,399 --> 00:00:41,085 science, health care, leadership, and patient care, and 20 00:00:41,164 --> 00:00:42,765 I've tried to make a career out of 21 00:00:42,765 --> 00:00:44,684 trying to just connect the dots on how 22 00:00:44,684 --> 00:00:46,445 we run health care and how can how 23 00:00:46,445 --> 00:00:47,984 we can reimagine it. 24 00:00:48,364 --> 00:00:50,125 As you stated, I am currently the CEO 25 00:00:50,125 --> 00:00:52,765 of South Florida Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. We 26 00:00:52,765 --> 00:00:54,064 are a comprehensive 27 00:00:54,765 --> 00:00:55,265 musculoskeletal 28 00:00:55,644 --> 00:00:57,960 group that's become one of the largest leading 29 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,739 groups, in in our region. 30 00:01:00,119 --> 00:01:02,280 And we have a full continuum model. So 31 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,739 we have sports medicine, joints, spine, hand, foot, 32 00:01:06,439 --> 00:01:07,259 pain management, 33 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:08,140 rheumatology, 34 00:01:08,439 --> 00:01:10,094 physical therapy. So anything you could think of 35 00:01:10,094 --> 00:01:12,495 from an MSK perspective, it's all under one 36 00:01:12,495 --> 00:01:15,694 coordinated system of care. And individually, for me, 37 00:01:15,935 --> 00:01:17,715 my path has been a little bit unconventional. 38 00:01:18,174 --> 00:01:19,635 I actually started in biochemistry. 39 00:01:20,094 --> 00:01:21,715 I earned a PhD in biochemistry, 40 00:01:22,495 --> 00:01:25,369 went back to school, completed master's in finance, 41 00:01:25,369 --> 00:01:27,849 public health, accountancy, and data science. And I 42 00:01:27,849 --> 00:01:30,409 I think that all that education and my 43 00:01:30,409 --> 00:01:30,909 training, 44 00:01:31,289 --> 00:01:33,289 and over the past decade, it just allowed 45 00:01:33,289 --> 00:01:34,729 me to look at health care through different 46 00:01:34,729 --> 00:01:36,734 lenses. And, you know, it's not just a 47 00:01:36,734 --> 00:01:39,615 single industry. It's an ecosystem that needs, you 48 00:01:39,615 --> 00:01:41,615 know, great minds and great people working on 49 00:01:41,615 --> 00:01:43,375 it to make it better. And what really 50 00:01:43,375 --> 00:01:45,534 drives me is that ability to try to 51 00:01:45,534 --> 00:01:46,835 change things, transformation. 52 00:01:47,375 --> 00:01:49,700 It's, you know, helping people think differently, helping 53 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:52,439 people think about growth or access or culture, 54 00:01:53,219 --> 00:01:54,819 to not only deal with how health care 55 00:01:54,819 --> 00:01:57,319 is today, but shape the future of it. 56 00:01:57,939 --> 00:01:59,954 And you've mentioned connecting the dots there in 57 00:01:59,954 --> 00:02:01,394 your intro, and I'm so excited that you 58 00:02:01,394 --> 00:02:02,914 did that because I think we'll we'll be 59 00:02:02,914 --> 00:02:05,314 connecting a lot of dots today in our 60 00:02:05,314 --> 00:02:05,814 conversation. 61 00:02:06,834 --> 00:02:09,715 In a recent webinar with Beckerson NextGen, you 62 00:02:09,715 --> 00:02:13,014 described revenue cycle management as both a 63 00:02:13,530 --> 00:02:15,770 a sword and a shield. Right? That's what 64 00:02:15,770 --> 00:02:18,969 you called it. Protecting organizations from denials and 65 00:02:18,969 --> 00:02:21,449 audits while also funding growth and innovation if 66 00:02:21,449 --> 00:02:24,169 we translate it to practice. Right? Can can 67 00:02:24,169 --> 00:02:26,010 you expand on this framing just a little 68 00:02:26,010 --> 00:02:27,735 bit and just sort of share how it 69 00:02:27,974 --> 00:02:29,995 shapes your leadership priorities 70 00:02:30,294 --> 00:02:31,754 today at your organization? 71 00:02:32,294 --> 00:02:34,534 No. Absolutely. And I just think it's easy 72 00:02:34,534 --> 00:02:36,455 to fall into a trap that when you 73 00:02:36,455 --> 00:02:37,995 start thinking about rev cycle, 74 00:02:38,694 --> 00:02:40,340 you think of it as just this back 75 00:02:40,340 --> 00:02:42,659 office function that it's just this defensive thing. 76 00:02:42,659 --> 00:02:44,680 And and there's some truth there, 77 00:02:45,379 --> 00:02:47,860 because true. It does plug leaks leaks. It 78 00:02:47,860 --> 00:02:49,780 does avoid denials. But that's not the whole 79 00:02:49,780 --> 00:02:51,860 story. I mean, I I my philosophy and 80 00:02:51,860 --> 00:02:53,139 how I think it should be is that, 81 00:02:53,139 --> 00:02:54,680 you know, a healthy rev cycle 82 00:02:55,384 --> 00:02:57,944 doesn't just protect your organization. It actually empowers 83 00:02:57,944 --> 00:02:59,724 it. Right? So if you think about 84 00:03:00,745 --> 00:03:02,984 needing an engine that funds innovation. Right? You 85 00:03:02,984 --> 00:03:03,724 want to 86 00:03:04,185 --> 00:03:06,824 buy the latest technology. You want to invest 87 00:03:06,824 --> 00:03:09,784 in data infrastructure. You wanna incorporate AI. You 88 00:03:09,784 --> 00:03:12,240 wanna add positions or specialties or locations. I 89 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,639 mean, all of that depends on disciplined cash 90 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:15,139 flow. 91 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:17,520 So when I was describing it as both 92 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:18,819 a shield and a sword, 93 00:03:19,599 --> 00:03:21,919 I actually meant it literally. The shield is 94 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,814 there to protect you from financial erosion. Right? 95 00:03:24,814 --> 00:03:26,334 It you know, Rev Cycle can help with 96 00:03:26,334 --> 00:03:29,155 denial, with audits, with compliance issues. 97 00:03:29,455 --> 00:03:31,375 But the sword gives you the ability and 98 00:03:31,375 --> 00:03:33,534 agility to invest, to grow and to compete 99 00:03:33,534 --> 00:03:34,974 because you need that cash flow. And where 100 00:03:34,974 --> 00:03:36,495 does cash flow come from? It comes from 101 00:03:36,495 --> 00:03:38,909 Rev Cycle. So at SFO, at South Florida 102 00:03:38,909 --> 00:03:39,409 Orthopedics, 103 00:03:40,030 --> 00:03:42,189 I don't treat rev cycle or our rev 104 00:03:42,349 --> 00:03:44,610 rev cycle department as just a billing department. 105 00:03:44,750 --> 00:03:45,489 I actually 106 00:03:46,349 --> 00:03:48,669 treat it as a business intelligent hub. You 107 00:03:48,669 --> 00:03:51,424 know, I I try to really connect operations 108 00:03:51,485 --> 00:03:54,284 and clinical workflow with rev cycle. My rev 109 00:03:54,284 --> 00:03:56,125 cycle leaders are at the same table with 110 00:03:56,125 --> 00:03:56,625 operations, 111 00:03:57,164 --> 00:03:59,084 same meetings where they're at the table with 112 00:03:59,084 --> 00:04:00,784 IT, with clinical staff 113 00:04:01,164 --> 00:04:03,884 because I truly believe that rev cycle isn't 114 00:04:03,884 --> 00:04:05,509 just the end product. Right? You don't just 115 00:04:05,509 --> 00:04:07,590 do a service and then rev cycle collects 116 00:04:07,590 --> 00:04:09,449 the money. I actually think rev cycle 117 00:04:09,830 --> 00:04:11,830 can be the feedback loops that tells an 118 00:04:11,830 --> 00:04:12,330 organization 119 00:04:12,870 --> 00:04:14,870 how well is the system performing end to 120 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:15,370 end. 121 00:04:16,404 --> 00:04:18,725 And you talked a little bit about this 122 00:04:18,725 --> 00:04:20,964 process just now and the importance of some 123 00:04:20,964 --> 00:04:23,444 of these aspects to try and and change 124 00:04:23,444 --> 00:04:25,544 the perspective on this a little bit. Right? 125 00:04:26,165 --> 00:04:27,845 Yeah. I'd love to go dive into that 126 00:04:27,845 --> 00:04:29,789 a little bit deeper. What are some of 127 00:04:29,789 --> 00:04:32,189 those steps that you think are critical for 128 00:04:32,189 --> 00:04:33,329 leaders to really 129 00:04:34,029 --> 00:04:36,129 do and and take this reposition 130 00:04:36,589 --> 00:04:38,909 seriously to be able to say, okay. This 131 00:04:38,909 --> 00:04:40,750 is not just the back office function. This 132 00:04:40,750 --> 00:04:42,449 is actually a a strategic 133 00:04:42,829 --> 00:04:45,045 lever that we can pull to be able 134 00:04:45,045 --> 00:04:46,884 to grow as organizations. What are some of 135 00:04:46,884 --> 00:04:48,805 those steps that you think are important for 136 00:04:48,805 --> 00:04:50,725 for leaders to understand, hey. This needs to 137 00:04:50,725 --> 00:04:51,545 happen first? 138 00:04:52,165 --> 00:04:54,084 Yeah. I I think there are a couple 139 00:04:54,084 --> 00:04:56,084 key moves that leaders can make and but 140 00:04:56,084 --> 00:04:58,060 the foundation is it has to be intentional. 141 00:04:58,060 --> 00:05:00,060 Right? It doesn't it just won't happen if 142 00:05:00,060 --> 00:05:02,319 you don't put effort and intention into it. 143 00:05:02,379 --> 00:05:04,060 So there's there's three things that I really 144 00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:05,439 try to think about 145 00:05:05,900 --> 00:05:08,139 to show intent. So the first is I 146 00:05:08,139 --> 00:05:09,360 elevate rev cycle. 147 00:05:09,675 --> 00:05:10,954 So I like I said, I I bring 148 00:05:10,954 --> 00:05:13,194 my rev cycle leaders into all the meetings. 149 00:05:13,194 --> 00:05:14,814 We talk about strategy together. 150 00:05:15,194 --> 00:05:17,915 I don't have rev cycle just reacting to 151 00:05:17,915 --> 00:05:19,774 volumes or just reacting to denials. 152 00:05:20,154 --> 00:05:23,134 They're actually in the table with my providers, 153 00:05:23,194 --> 00:05:25,810 with my operations, with my strategy people, helping 154 00:05:25,810 --> 00:05:27,750 us think about how to grow the organization. 155 00:05:28,449 --> 00:05:31,009 Okay. So besides elevating it, then the second 156 00:05:31,009 --> 00:05:33,330 part is education. And what I meant by 157 00:05:33,330 --> 00:05:35,750 education is just company wide education. 158 00:05:36,290 --> 00:05:38,629 Again, clinicians, front office, operators. 159 00:05:39,345 --> 00:05:40,564 When people realize 160 00:05:41,025 --> 00:05:41,525 how 161 00:05:42,145 --> 00:05:44,564 rev cycle or documentation or coding 162 00:05:44,944 --> 00:05:48,545 workflow decisions affect revenue integrity or affect how 163 00:05:48,545 --> 00:05:49,925 cash comes into the organization, 164 00:05:50,464 --> 00:05:52,625 all of a sudden people understand that we're 165 00:05:52,625 --> 00:05:53,365 all partners 166 00:05:53,699 --> 00:05:56,419 chasing a common goal, right? Common vision. That 167 00:05:56,419 --> 00:05:59,060 we're all partners in financial health. That no 168 00:05:59,060 --> 00:06:01,060 one here is a passive participant. That we're 169 00:06:01,060 --> 00:06:02,819 all on the same team. And then the 170 00:06:02,819 --> 00:06:04,899 last thing I like to do throughout the 171 00:06:04,899 --> 00:06:07,079 organization is just make data visible. 172 00:06:07,774 --> 00:06:09,394 Transparency of data dashboards. 173 00:06:09,935 --> 00:06:11,615 I truly believe, you know, as a scientist 174 00:06:11,615 --> 00:06:14,175 at heart that data drives behavior. Right? So 175 00:06:14,175 --> 00:06:16,254 if you could show real time dashboards, real 176 00:06:16,254 --> 00:06:18,095 time data and be open about what it 177 00:06:18,095 --> 00:06:19,774 is, what it means, what we're good at, 178 00:06:19,774 --> 00:06:21,074 what we're not good at, 179 00:06:21,375 --> 00:06:23,670 all of a sudden teams start understanding 180 00:06:24,370 --> 00:06:26,050 the story behind the numbers. All of a 181 00:06:26,050 --> 00:06:27,750 sudden engagement increases, accountability 182 00:06:28,209 --> 00:06:28,709 increases. 183 00:06:29,009 --> 00:06:30,610 So if I had to kinda just summarize 184 00:06:30,610 --> 00:06:31,430 it, you know, 185 00:06:31,970 --> 00:06:33,250 what I what I try to do for 186 00:06:33,250 --> 00:06:35,829 the organization is I'm not chasing dollars, 187 00:06:36,214 --> 00:06:38,475 but I'm trying to manage performance proactively. 188 00:06:39,095 --> 00:06:40,855 Because I believe if I if I manage 189 00:06:40,855 --> 00:06:44,055 performance appropriately and elevate rev cycle and and 190 00:06:44,055 --> 00:06:46,375 provide the education of transparency, the dollars will 191 00:06:46,375 --> 00:06:48,055 ultimately come. Right? The dollars will be the 192 00:06:48,055 --> 00:06:50,129 end product. I don't need to chase dollars 193 00:06:50,129 --> 00:06:52,389 on the front end. If I manage performance 194 00:06:52,529 --> 00:06:53,029 proactively, 195 00:06:53,730 --> 00:06:55,889 the dollars will come. And that's truly when 196 00:06:55,889 --> 00:06:58,050 I think Rev Cycle transforms from a cost 197 00:06:58,050 --> 00:06:59,589 center into a growth engine. 198 00:07:00,290 --> 00:07:01,649 And I wanna come back to that data 199 00:07:01,649 --> 00:07:03,714 piece because again, not only is it, at 200 00:07:03,714 --> 00:07:04,535 hard for you 201 00:07:05,074 --> 00:07:06,834 and in your background Yeah. But I think 202 00:07:06,834 --> 00:07:10,134 it's so crucial. And is data the true 203 00:07:10,194 --> 00:07:12,694 enabler and sharing that data, making it visible, 204 00:07:12,914 --> 00:07:15,414 sort of the true enabler to to align 205 00:07:15,555 --> 00:07:15,990 folks, 206 00:07:16,389 --> 00:07:19,050 to align people and culture with those efficiency 207 00:07:19,110 --> 00:07:20,889 goals and really making that connection? 208 00:07:21,589 --> 00:07:23,430 I mean, I I believe so. I think 209 00:07:23,430 --> 00:07:24,729 data is the tool 210 00:07:25,269 --> 00:07:26,569 that changes a conversation 211 00:07:26,870 --> 00:07:27,370 from 212 00:07:27,829 --> 00:07:31,224 thinking about what is right versus who is 213 00:07:31,224 --> 00:07:34,104 right. Right? So without data, without you know, 214 00:07:34,104 --> 00:07:36,764 people have ego. Right? People have 215 00:07:37,464 --> 00:07:40,044 their their perspective, their own individual 216 00:07:40,425 --> 00:07:42,425 lens of what they believe is true, which 217 00:07:42,425 --> 00:07:44,279 they they deserve that right to have that. 218 00:07:44,279 --> 00:07:45,879 But what I think data does, it's the 219 00:07:45,879 --> 00:07:48,779 normalizer. Right? It just changes the conversation to 220 00:07:48,839 --> 00:07:51,660 what is, not what you think is. So 221 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,279 I love data because it takes ego away, 222 00:07:54,279 --> 00:07:56,439 it takes bias away, it takes personal agenda 223 00:07:56,439 --> 00:07:56,939 away. 224 00:07:57,334 --> 00:07:58,774 And it we can have we start having 225 00:07:58,774 --> 00:08:00,235 true conversations about 226 00:08:00,694 --> 00:08:03,014 what do we need to do to to 227 00:08:03,014 --> 00:08:05,735 drive the organization forward, and here's the data 228 00:08:05,735 --> 00:08:08,214 that backs it. So without being transparent with 229 00:08:08,214 --> 00:08:10,410 data, with non with not educate 230 00:08:10,789 --> 00:08:12,629 educating people on what the data means, I 231 00:08:12,629 --> 00:08:15,129 think you miss a huge component of engagement. 232 00:08:15,349 --> 00:08:17,269 I think you you miss a huge component 233 00:08:17,269 --> 00:08:20,009 of trust. And I think that's when organizations 234 00:08:20,389 --> 00:08:22,490 kinda stumble or people feel siloed. 235 00:08:23,404 --> 00:08:24,764 Yeah. And I love that you mentioned that 236 00:08:24,764 --> 00:08:26,285 because I think it is a true builder, 237 00:08:26,285 --> 00:08:27,805 and it can be a true builder of 238 00:08:27,805 --> 00:08:29,185 culture in an organization 239 00:08:29,645 --> 00:08:31,324 to be able to have those levers and 240 00:08:31,324 --> 00:08:33,485 see, okay. This is actually working, and this 241 00:08:33,485 --> 00:08:36,125 is driving success for the organization, which is 242 00:08:36,125 --> 00:08:38,070 so key. I I wanna touch a little 243 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:40,870 bit on on patient access here as well. 244 00:08:40,870 --> 00:08:41,370 It's 245 00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:43,850 certainly more than ever part 246 00:08:44,309 --> 00:08:46,549 of growth strategy. People recognize it as part 247 00:08:46,549 --> 00:08:48,710 of growth strategy. And you've also talked about 248 00:08:48,710 --> 00:08:50,629 it in that same next gen session, with 249 00:08:50,629 --> 00:08:51,129 Becker's. 250 00:08:51,605 --> 00:08:54,004 You've talked about without timely, you know, trusted 251 00:08:54,004 --> 00:08:56,565 access investments in facilities or technology can can 252 00:08:56,565 --> 00:08:58,664 really fall flat. Right? It it's really key. 253 00:08:58,725 --> 00:09:01,524 How have you approached access models within your 254 00:09:01,524 --> 00:09:03,204 practice, and and what advice do you have 255 00:09:03,204 --> 00:09:05,019 for leaders there too that are trying to 256 00:09:05,019 --> 00:09:05,519 expand 257 00:09:05,980 --> 00:09:06,960 or or scale, 258 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:11,039 on on-site with with locations while avoiding inefficiency? 259 00:09:11,580 --> 00:09:13,339 Yeah. No. You're absolutely right. I I think 260 00:09:13,339 --> 00:09:15,919 access is no longer just an operational 261 00:09:16,379 --> 00:09:19,179 keyword. Right? I think access is is growth 262 00:09:19,179 --> 00:09:19,679 strategy. 263 00:09:20,335 --> 00:09:21,615 And if you think about this, you can 264 00:09:21,615 --> 00:09:22,754 have the best positions, 265 00:09:23,375 --> 00:09:25,855 the most advanced technology, the most beautifully designed 266 00:09:25,855 --> 00:09:28,575 facilities. Right? But if patients aren't getting in, 267 00:09:28,575 --> 00:09:31,475 if patients aren't being seen when they want, 268 00:09:32,429 --> 00:09:34,929 it doesn't matter. Right? None none of that 269 00:09:35,070 --> 00:09:37,009 beautiful bells and whistles matters. 270 00:09:37,470 --> 00:09:39,950 So what I try to incorporate, again, going 271 00:09:39,950 --> 00:09:41,710 back to the data perspective is, you know, 272 00:09:41,710 --> 00:09:43,250 I I spend a lot of time 273 00:09:43,870 --> 00:09:45,169 educating and utilizing 274 00:09:45,470 --> 00:09:47,649 analytics and technology to forecast 275 00:09:48,325 --> 00:09:48,904 kind of 276 00:09:49,365 --> 00:09:50,884 the the supply and demand of how we 277 00:09:50,884 --> 00:09:51,865 run our business. 278 00:09:52,644 --> 00:09:54,565 And once I start getting the data and 279 00:09:54,565 --> 00:09:57,144 educate people on the data, it opens up 280 00:09:57,284 --> 00:09:58,105 how we 281 00:09:58,884 --> 00:10:00,184 address availability 282 00:10:00,565 --> 00:10:02,360 and how do we match the right patient 283 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,493 with the right specialist at the right location 284 00:10:04,493 --> 00:10:06,627 at the right time. All of a sudden 285 00:10:06,627 --> 00:10:09,027 things become our decision making process becomes quicker 286 00:10:09,027 --> 00:10:11,160 and faster. You know? And then again, it's 287 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,294 about designing access around the patient need, not 288 00:10:13,294 --> 00:10:15,428 around the provider convenience. Right? And I love 289 00:10:15,428 --> 00:10:17,774 my docs. I love what we do. But 290 00:10:17,774 --> 00:10:20,034 access to me is about what the patients 291 00:10:20,575 --> 00:10:22,195 want. So in that perspective, 292 00:10:22,654 --> 00:10:24,334 how do we make it easy for patients 293 00:10:24,334 --> 00:10:25,615 to get in? How do we make it 294 00:10:25,615 --> 00:10:28,254 convenient for referring providers to send us patients? 295 00:10:28,254 --> 00:10:31,134 Right? So goal in my perspective, and I 296 00:10:31,134 --> 00:10:33,049 think many would agree that we're getting to 297 00:10:33,049 --> 00:10:35,409 the point it's it's twenty four seven access. 298 00:10:35,409 --> 00:10:37,809 Right? People don't just get hurt Monday through 299 00:10:37,809 --> 00:10:40,529 Friday, nine to five. People don't wanna talk 300 00:10:40,529 --> 00:10:42,769 to us just not during the day. People 301 00:10:42,769 --> 00:10:44,850 have jobs. People have families. Right? We need 302 00:10:44,850 --> 00:10:47,009 to somehow be able to provide twenty four 303 00:10:47,009 --> 00:10:47,909 seven access 304 00:10:48,294 --> 00:10:49,035 to patients. 305 00:10:49,415 --> 00:10:51,095 Now how do we do that? Well, think 306 00:10:51,095 --> 00:10:53,174 about all the digit digital technology that's out 307 00:10:53,174 --> 00:10:55,254 there. We can now book online. We can 308 00:10:55,254 --> 00:10:56,475 now send text reminders. 309 00:10:57,014 --> 00:10:59,254 We can now allow portals where patients can 310 00:10:59,254 --> 00:11:02,789 complete paperwork online. They can communicate with us, 311 00:11:03,029 --> 00:11:04,950 at any time during the day or night, 312 00:11:05,350 --> 00:11:07,509 through chat box or whatever you have. They 313 00:11:07,509 --> 00:11:10,149 can pay bills online. The goal is how 314 00:11:10,149 --> 00:11:12,789 do you support patients before they even walk 315 00:11:12,789 --> 00:11:13,610 through the door? 316 00:11:14,034 --> 00:11:15,554 And then one piece of advice I would 317 00:11:15,554 --> 00:11:17,554 say for leaders is when people talk about 318 00:11:17,554 --> 00:11:19,654 growth, when people talk about access, 319 00:11:20,034 --> 00:11:22,754 it's usually they they talk about addition. They 320 00:11:22,754 --> 00:11:24,434 they need to add square footage. They need 321 00:11:24,434 --> 00:11:25,174 to add providers. 322 00:11:26,370 --> 00:11:29,410 My advice to those leaders are, for me, 323 00:11:29,410 --> 00:11:31,970 the first step of it of growth, the 324 00:11:31,970 --> 00:11:33,590 first step of, 325 00:11:34,049 --> 00:11:36,309 adding access is actually subtraction. 326 00:11:36,850 --> 00:11:38,529 Think about ways in your org in your 327 00:11:38,529 --> 00:11:39,750 organization where 328 00:11:40,184 --> 00:11:41,164 the patient hesitates, 329 00:11:41,625 --> 00:11:43,865 where the patient is waiting, where there's a 330 00:11:43,865 --> 00:11:44,365 cancellation, 331 00:11:44,745 --> 00:11:47,225 where patients get bounced around. I think if 332 00:11:47,225 --> 00:11:49,065 you can solve those friction points, if you 333 00:11:49,065 --> 00:11:51,225 can take away those errors, all of a 334 00:11:51,225 --> 00:11:54,269 sudden you'll you'll have this unknown capacity you 335 00:11:54,269 --> 00:11:56,830 never thought you knew. Access will improve. Growth 336 00:11:56,830 --> 00:11:58,590 will grow. And you hadn't and you haven't 337 00:11:58,590 --> 00:12:00,830 even added any square footage. So I so 338 00:12:00,830 --> 00:12:03,309 that first step, I think, is addition through 339 00:12:03,309 --> 00:12:03,809 subtraction. 340 00:12:05,149 --> 00:12:07,309 John, it's so fantastic to have you. I 341 00:12:07,309 --> 00:12:09,725 think we connected the dots very well 342 00:12:10,264 --> 00:12:12,424 here to a lot of different topics and 343 00:12:12,424 --> 00:12:14,585 a lot of different conversation markers here. I 344 00:12:14,585 --> 00:12:16,345 wanna open the floor to you. Anything else 345 00:12:16,345 --> 00:12:18,184 we didn't cover? Any final thoughts that you 346 00:12:18,184 --> 00:12:19,085 would like to share? 347 00:12:19,464 --> 00:12:20,825 No. I wanna I wanna thank you for 348 00:12:20,825 --> 00:12:22,184 your time. And, again, I'll I'll just end 349 00:12:22,184 --> 00:12:23,884 with this. You know, health care 350 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:25,919 changes all the time and and we know 351 00:12:25,919 --> 00:12:28,320 that going into it. And I think leaders 352 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,639 sometimes get stressed and tired and burnout, which 353 00:12:30,639 --> 00:12:32,480 is which is all real. But I think 354 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:33,539 the one thing about 355 00:12:33,919 --> 00:12:35,839 transformative periods is that it can also be 356 00:12:35,839 --> 00:12:36,899 incredibly exciting. 357 00:12:37,225 --> 00:12:39,544 You know, what what I love more about 358 00:12:39,544 --> 00:12:41,304 transformation is I'm realizing it's, you know, it 359 00:12:41,304 --> 00:12:43,225 doesn't necessarily happen in the boardroom or on 360 00:12:43,225 --> 00:12:43,725 spreadsheets. 361 00:12:44,184 --> 00:12:46,424 It's taking the time to have conversations like 362 00:12:46,424 --> 00:12:48,345 this or had taken the time to, you 363 00:12:48,345 --> 00:12:50,345 know, talk to patients in the hallway, spend 364 00:12:50,345 --> 00:12:52,320 time in the clinics, talk to people that 365 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,639 actually care about doing things better. And all 366 00:12:54,639 --> 00:12:56,579 of a sudden, things get more accessible. 367 00:12:56,879 --> 00:12:58,959 Health care becomes more human. It becomes more 368 00:12:58,959 --> 00:13:00,720 impactful. And again, I think this is a 369 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,240 great time to be in health care. So 370 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:03,519 I and I wanna thank you for your 371 00:13:03,519 --> 00:13:04,339 time as well. 372 00:13:04,995 --> 00:13:07,715 Visibility and communication across the board. I like 373 00:13:07,715 --> 00:13:10,915 it. Yeah. That's it, man. John, again, thanks 374 00:13:10,915 --> 00:13:12,274 so much for being here and your insights 375 00:13:12,274 --> 00:13:14,035 today. It's great to have you. Oh, thanks 376 00:13:14,035 --> 00:13:16,115 for having me. Absolutely. And we also want 377 00:13:16,115 --> 00:13:18,480 to thank our podcast sponsor, NextGen Healthcare. You 378 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,080 can tune in to more podcasts from Becker's 379 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,820 Healthcare by visiting our podcast page at beckershospitalreview.com.