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Looking for a solution that helps alleviate administrative

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tasks for your staff and also helps your

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patients cover their out of pocket health care

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expenses?

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Find what you're looking for from CareCredit because

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CareCredit is a credit card and more. It's

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a helping hand for staff and a flexible

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payment solution for patients. For over thirty years,

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CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, has offered patients a

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credit card with promotional financing options to get

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the care they want while helping staff do

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what they do best, provide care. To learn

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more, visit carecredit.com

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forward slash beckers podcast.

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Hello, everyone. This is Gracelyn Keller with Becker's

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Healthcare. Thank you so much for tuning in

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to part two of the series, Innovating for

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Impact, Information to Consider for the Next Era

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of ASCs.

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Joining us again for this discussion is Claude

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Royster, who is the vice president and general

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manager of Health and Wellness, and Cathy McDowell,

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who is the president and CEO of Karen

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Zipco and Associates. Claude and Cathy, thank you

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for being here today.

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Thank you again.

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So let's jump right in. Claude, I have

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a question for you specifically.

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What are some of the challenges ASC leaders

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may face when trying to pursue deeper tech

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integration, and what strategies have you seen work

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to meet those challenges head on?

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Well, I'll start. According to the survey respondents

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in article from budget bleed to burnout, the

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top ASC challenges defining 2025

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from the ambulatory surgery center

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news this year, Rising operational costs, 31.3%,

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and staff constraints, 25%, are the most cited

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challenges for ASC operators in 2025.

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Some of the key challenges ASC practice leaders

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may face when trying to integrate deeper tech

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integration are navigating staff workloads

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and maintaining efficient practice operations during tech implementation.

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A key strategy for streamlining tech integrations for

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ASC practice leaders could be choosing a finance

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partner within the industry

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that provides resources to address multiple challenges as

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opposed to integrating an array of solutions from

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different partners.

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For example,

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Synchrony provides innovative digital solutions within the health

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care finance industry.

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That could support leaders in finding one solution

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to address multiple challenges.

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And a follow-up to that, is there one

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technology or innovation that stands out to you

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as especially transformative?

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I see the integration of technology for for

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expanding consumer payment options options for care through

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multi source financing

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solutions or MSF

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as especially vital for providers and patients.

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An MSF approach could connect more patients with

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credible lenders to help them structure payments for

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the care they desire and may support practices

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to reduce receivables.

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Notably,

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my organization has three key things that make

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MSF approach especially meaningful.

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Number one, it unlocks more credit approvals increasing

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the likelihood that patients can finance the care

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they want. Secondly,

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it helps providers receive timely payments. And then

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lastly, it reduces the financial risk associated

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with, offering in house financing.

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And shifting gears slightly,

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60%

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of health systems are considering ASC joint ventures,

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and many ASCs are already partnering with systems

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in their communities.

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So what opportunities do you both see for

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collaboration, whether with providers or vendors, to strengthen

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patient care and operational efficiency?

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Sure. I think we live in an age

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where there is digital solution or counterpart

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for many of the challenges practices or patients

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are facing. What stands out to me as

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transformative is making easily accessible through user friendly

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interfaces and integration.

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When we search for opportunities for collaboration, I

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think integrating a third party financing partner into

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current processes could be vital.

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A study from VMG Health, health system leader

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expectations for 2024

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highlights that recent years have been particularly challenging

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for health care system leaders due to cost

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increase for supplies and labor

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and specific,

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specialty provider

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recruitment and retention rates

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only add to the increasing competitive landscape.

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Kathy?

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Thanks. For ASC's practice leaders considering a partner,

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they should look for teams that have a

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clear understanding of the health care industry's needs

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and that offer solutions to integrate with existing

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systems that can support financial communication throughout the

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patient journey.

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One area to strengthen operational efficiencies are financing,

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processes.

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CareCredit's 2025

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in house payments report shows that survey providers

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are agreeing that in house financing models add

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work to the staff, 72%

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in fact, add stress for staffs, 47%.

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And fewer say it is easy to use,

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46%,

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compared to responses for third party financing.

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So then, Claude, another question for you. What

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are the real world impacts of meaningful integration

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and collaboration on health care delivery?

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Well, meaningful digital integration for ASC practices may

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allow staff to focus more time on delivering

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quality care to patients and enhancing the patient

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experience.

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I discussed briefly the value of partnering with

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finance financing partners with digital solutions and some

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real world impacts of ISV and MSF solutions

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alongside third party financing options like CareCredit.

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Some real world impacts could be like,

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one, streamlining administrative billing process with solutions directly

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implemented into the current practice management software.

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The ability to offer more financial options for

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patients through MSF and the CareCredit

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card to meet patients at meaningful moments for

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their care.

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And thirdly, confidence in relaying vital information in

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patients about their financial options through online educational

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resources and tools.

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Well, thank you both for sharing these insights

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today. Is there anything that we didn't touch

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on or any final thoughts that you'd like

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to share on the podcast?

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Sure. I I hope this discussion provided more

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meaningful background on ASC leaders,

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how ASC leaders can be well equipped to

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address challenges head on and continue focusing on

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delivering,

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quality patient care. Partnering with CareCredit health practices

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meet patients' needs, stay competitive, and improve payment

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processes and reduce administrative burden.

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I'd like to share as we think about

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the all these pieces,

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it is what makes third party financing partners

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like CareCredit different and ideal for addressing your

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practice leaders' needs.

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Couple of key points, fast payments that help

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improve cash flow.

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We ensure payment in just two days so

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patient providers get paid with no risk when

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patients pay with the CareCredit credit card, subject

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to the representation of warranties in the agreement

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with CareCredit.

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We offer transparent practice transaction processing fees. We

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offer clear upfront pricing with no hidden fees.

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And then lastly, patients can see if they

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qualify for the CareCredit credit card with no

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impact to their credit score. Our processes are

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simple seamless and have no impact to the

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credit scores.

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We also offer responsible, ethical, and transparent lending.

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Our fair financing principles,

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ethical and transparent lending, Synchrony is a responsible

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lender. We we train the providers in our

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network and provide clear disclosures to cardholders as

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part of our application process.

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That allows them to understand the account terms

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as well as the available promotional financing options.

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CareCredit offers provider focused tools, including collaborative consultations,

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improving payment processes,

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and fast provider payments within two business days

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with no provider risk if patients delay or

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default.

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Additional support includes staff training, on-site

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assistance, and educational tools to strengthen financial conversations

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with patients. Kathy?

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Sure. Just add to that, Claude, that adding

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financial planning to the care experience is very

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important.

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Training staff upfront so they are comfortable with

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the platforms that your practice has and including

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this full holistic picture of the care of

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the patient in your treatment.

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Wonderful. Well, thank you, Claude and Cathy, for

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your time and insights today. We also wanna

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thank our podcast sponsor, CareCredit.

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You can tune into more podcasts from Becker's

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Healthcare by visiting our podcast page at beckershospitalreview.com.

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Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.