1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,980
Looking for a solution that helps alleviate administrative

2
00:00:03,199 --> 00:00:05,599
tasks for your staff and also helps your

3
00:00:05,599 --> 00:00:07,599
patients cover their out of pocket health care

4
00:00:07,599 --> 00:00:08,099
expenses?

5
00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,199
Find what you're looking for from CareCredit because

6
00:00:11,199 --> 00:00:13,919
CareCredit is a credit card and more. It's

7
00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:16,375
a helping hand for staff and a flexible

8
00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:19,434
payment solution for patients. For over thirty years,

9
00:00:19,574 --> 00:00:22,934
CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, has offered patients a

10
00:00:22,934 --> 00:00:25,894
credit card with promotional financing options to get

11
00:00:25,894 --> 00:00:27,894
the care they want while helping staff do

12
00:00:27,894 --> 00:00:30,649
what they do best, provide care. To learn

13
00:00:30,649 --> 00:00:33,009
more, visit carecredit.com

14
00:00:33,009 --> 00:00:34,229
forward /beckerspodcast.

15
00:00:35,890 --> 00:00:38,149
Hello and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast.

16
00:00:38,369 --> 00:00:40,129
My name is Chanel Bunger and I'm recording

17
00:00:40,129 --> 00:00:42,449
live at the thirty first annual Business and

18
00:00:42,449 --> 00:00:44,789
Operations of ASC Conference in Chicago

19
00:00:45,215 --> 00:00:48,254
and sitting down with Sean Gibson, the CEO

20
00:00:48,254 --> 00:00:50,655
at Remedy Surgery Centers. Sean, thank you so

21
00:00:50,655 --> 00:00:52,814
much for joining me today. Good afternoon. Thank

22
00:00:52,814 --> 00:00:54,494
you for having me. Perfect. Well, to kick

23
00:00:54,494 --> 00:00:55,774
us off, can you share a bit about

24
00:00:55,774 --> 00:00:57,634
yourself and your work in the ASC space?

25
00:00:58,094 --> 00:00:59,634
Sure. I am a

26
00:01:00,149 --> 00:01:02,490
a a CEO for Remedy Surgery Centers.

27
00:01:03,070 --> 00:01:03,570
I,

28
00:01:04,150 --> 00:01:05,530
all in all, have 14

29
00:01:05,909 --> 00:01:06,810
surgery centers,

30
00:01:07,989 --> 00:01:09,450
throughout the state of Texas.

31
00:01:10,230 --> 00:01:13,109
I've lived in both the ASC world as

32
00:01:13,109 --> 00:01:14,409
well as corporate

33
00:01:15,055 --> 00:01:18,415
America in the hospital setting. So ASCs have

34
00:01:18,415 --> 00:01:19,075
taught me

35
00:01:19,454 --> 00:01:21,454
much more than the hospital system has in

36
00:01:21,454 --> 00:01:23,215
a very short period of time. It's it's

37
00:01:23,215 --> 00:01:24,194
been a good run.

38
00:01:24,894 --> 00:01:27,155
Perfect. Thank you so much for that introduction.

39
00:01:27,295 --> 00:01:29,590
And now the ASC market in The US

40
00:01:29,590 --> 00:01:32,629
is projected to reach almost $61,000,000,000

41
00:01:32,629 --> 00:01:35,269
by 2030 and continues to experience strong year

42
00:01:35,269 --> 00:01:37,930
over year growth. From your perspective, I'm wondering

43
00:01:38,149 --> 00:01:39,030
what are you thinking,

44
00:01:39,509 --> 00:01:41,849
are the most significant trends in market forces

45
00:01:41,909 --> 00:01:44,965
driving the this expansion? And how should ASC

46
00:01:44,965 --> 00:01:46,424
leaders be preparing today?

47
00:01:48,245 --> 00:01:49,064
It's no surprise.

48
00:01:49,365 --> 00:01:51,545
I think the market is being driven by,

49
00:01:52,165 --> 00:01:52,905
our payers,

50
00:01:53,605 --> 00:01:54,265
but also

51
00:01:55,525 --> 00:01:59,140
with, the Internet and people having the ability

52
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,680
to search things much easier today, I think

53
00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:02,420
it has,

54
00:02:03,039 --> 00:02:05,200
is now being driven by the consumer as

55
00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,019
well. So

56
00:02:06,399 --> 00:02:07,780
we've got kind of a twofold

57
00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:11,139
scenario where our patients

58
00:02:11,439 --> 00:02:13,824
are looking for care and,

59
00:02:15,004 --> 00:02:17,664
through data that we share on the Internet,

60
00:02:17,965 --> 00:02:20,064
with pricing and so forth and so on.

61
00:02:21,084 --> 00:02:23,724
They're they're making the conclusions and coming to

62
00:02:23,724 --> 00:02:25,724
the ASC market, and it's just driving it

63
00:02:25,724 --> 00:02:26,384
very quickly.

64
00:02:27,469 --> 00:02:29,250
Got it. And now moving forward,

65
00:02:29,550 --> 00:02:32,449
from AI and robotic surgeries to advanced EHR

66
00:02:32,510 --> 00:02:35,469
systems, technology remains both a make or break

67
00:02:35,469 --> 00:02:38,110
factor and a critical driver of ASC operations

68
00:02:38,110 --> 00:02:38,849
at scale.

69
00:02:39,335 --> 00:02:41,814
How do you see deeper tech integration shaping

70
00:02:41,814 --> 00:02:44,055
the way ASCs deliver care and manage their

71
00:02:44,055 --> 00:02:45,675
businesses over the next few years?

72
00:02:46,215 --> 00:02:46,715
So,

73
00:02:47,094 --> 00:02:49,814
actually, technology is what really started me coming

74
00:02:49,814 --> 00:02:50,794
to these meetings.

75
00:02:51,895 --> 00:02:53,335
It was AI was

76
00:02:54,599 --> 00:02:56,759
everybody heard of it, but I didn't really

77
00:02:56,759 --> 00:02:59,080
understand what it was and more so how

78
00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:00,759
much did it cost and what was I

79
00:03:00,759 --> 00:03:02,219
gonna get out of it. So

80
00:03:02,759 --> 00:03:03,419
I think,

81
00:03:04,199 --> 00:03:04,699
technology

82
00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:05,580
obviously

83
00:03:05,959 --> 00:03:09,175
is if if you're not educated on it

84
00:03:09,175 --> 00:03:11,675
now, you're way behind. And the

85
00:03:12,055 --> 00:03:15,275
abilities for us to mine our data and

86
00:03:15,974 --> 00:03:18,394
come to the negotiating table with the payers

87
00:03:18,534 --> 00:03:19,034
using

88
00:03:19,735 --> 00:03:20,955
AI driven data,

89
00:03:21,719 --> 00:03:23,500
and having the ability to

90
00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:26,780
source that information and know what your competitors

91
00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:27,479
are doing.

92
00:03:27,879 --> 00:03:28,379
It

93
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,419
you would be a fool not to to

94
00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,120
have that information in, and it's allowed me

95
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:35,340
the ability to

96
00:03:36,245 --> 00:03:38,824
go to the payers and negotiate better contracts

97
00:03:39,044 --> 00:03:40,745
with the data that

98
00:03:41,044 --> 00:03:42,965
we already all know that they have on

99
00:03:42,965 --> 00:03:45,284
us before they even get there. Got it.

100
00:03:45,284 --> 00:03:47,525
And is there a specific technology or innovation

101
00:03:47,525 --> 00:03:50,104
that stands out to you as especially transformative?

102
00:03:50,719 --> 00:03:51,939
You know, billing,

103
00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:53,699
the billing software,

104
00:03:54,159 --> 00:03:55,120
the ability to

105
00:03:56,479 --> 00:03:59,539
our commercial payers have been using AI,

106
00:04:00,879 --> 00:04:02,819
to shoot claims back and

107
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,580
pull data on

108
00:04:05,145 --> 00:04:07,564
slowing our claim payments down. And

109
00:04:08,104 --> 00:04:09,485
we now have the ability,

110
00:04:10,425 --> 00:04:11,485
through that software

111
00:04:11,784 --> 00:04:13,645
and reduce price to

112
00:04:14,104 --> 00:04:16,285
do the same thing. So we're able to

113
00:04:16,824 --> 00:04:18,125
use AI to

114
00:04:19,050 --> 00:04:20,350
push those those

115
00:04:20,889 --> 00:04:21,389
commonly

116
00:04:22,009 --> 00:04:24,410
denied claims back. We can look at,

117
00:04:25,769 --> 00:04:26,089
different,

118
00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:28,990
procedures that are slow pays versus

119
00:04:29,290 --> 00:04:32,250
no pays from the insurance industry. It's it's

120
00:04:32,250 --> 00:04:33,230
been very useful.

121
00:04:33,615 --> 00:04:35,154
So I I think that the

122
00:04:35,615 --> 00:04:36,274
the ability

123
00:04:36,574 --> 00:04:39,694
to mine your billing data and use the

124
00:04:39,694 --> 00:04:40,834
AI to,

125
00:04:41,855 --> 00:04:45,634
I guess, help you without adding extra FTEs

126
00:04:45,855 --> 00:04:47,954
is makes our world a lot easier.

127
00:04:49,199 --> 00:04:51,120
Of course. And now switching gears a bit

128
00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,240
here, with 60% of health systems considering ASC

129
00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,459
joint ventures and many ASCs already partnering partnering

130
00:04:57,759 --> 00:04:59,139
with systems in their communities,

131
00:04:59,519 --> 00:05:02,235
what opportunities do you see for collaboration,

132
00:05:02,535 --> 00:05:05,514
whether with other providers or vendors, to strengthen

133
00:05:05,574 --> 00:05:07,514
patient care and operational efficiency?

134
00:05:08,375 --> 00:05:10,474
I think that, hospitals overall,

135
00:05:11,095 --> 00:05:11,995
being a

136
00:05:12,535 --> 00:05:16,009
a past hospital leader, we deal with population

137
00:05:16,229 --> 00:05:19,849
issues, volume issues coming through the hospitals. And

138
00:05:20,310 --> 00:05:21,449
ASCs give

139
00:05:21,750 --> 00:05:24,250
the ability for us to take care of

140
00:05:24,470 --> 00:05:27,689
not as sick patients, less critically ill patients,

141
00:05:28,595 --> 00:05:30,694
to manage surgical procedures

142
00:05:31,155 --> 00:05:32,694
very quickly and easily,

143
00:05:34,115 --> 00:05:36,194
reducing the volume that actually goes to the

144
00:05:36,194 --> 00:05:38,535
hospitals. The the other side of that is

145
00:05:38,915 --> 00:05:41,395
it reduces reimbursement going to those hospitals as

146
00:05:41,395 --> 00:05:42,694
well. So we have to

147
00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:45,379
find an an easy

148
00:05:45,759 --> 00:05:46,259
midway

149
00:05:47,199 --> 00:05:48,259
space that

150
00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:50,479
the hospital doesn't feel like you're taking their

151
00:05:50,479 --> 00:05:51,459
business, and

152
00:05:51,919 --> 00:05:53,620
you you are still able to

153
00:05:54,479 --> 00:05:57,634
share information with them, share page your patient

154
00:05:57,634 --> 00:05:58,134
population,

155
00:05:58,834 --> 00:06:00,375
with them, and ultimately

156
00:06:01,074 --> 00:06:02,694
do good patient care safely

157
00:06:03,555 --> 00:06:06,354
and get reimbursed for it. Absolutely. Well, Sean,

158
00:06:06,354 --> 00:06:07,634
I I wanna thank you for your time

159
00:06:07,634 --> 00:06:08,995
today. But before I let you go, is

160
00:06:08,995 --> 00:06:10,595
there anything else that we didn't touch on

161
00:06:10,595 --> 00:06:11,759
or any final thoughts you'd

162
00:06:12,319 --> 00:06:14,100
like to share? I think, from the ASC

163
00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:15,220
markets generally,

164
00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:17,600
I think this have been a big,

165
00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,259
big talk here this session.

166
00:06:21,439 --> 00:06:23,860
We as ASC leaders really need to

167
00:06:24,574 --> 00:06:26,995
bond really bond together and

168
00:06:27,295 --> 00:06:29,314
let our legislative folks know,

169
00:06:30,415 --> 00:06:32,514
that, you know, we're not gonna put up

170
00:06:32,814 --> 00:06:33,314
with

171
00:06:33,694 --> 00:06:36,654
less pay payment opportunities, you know, be able

172
00:06:36,654 --> 00:06:38,654
to compete on a market doing the same

173
00:06:38,654 --> 00:06:39,955
cases with the same

174
00:06:40,790 --> 00:06:41,290
equipments.

175
00:06:41,830 --> 00:06:43,350
I think the word is really starting to

176
00:06:43,350 --> 00:06:45,189
get out there, and that might be your

177
00:06:45,189 --> 00:06:48,150
competitor across town, but that that person also

178
00:06:48,150 --> 00:06:50,410
is your partner in helping getting that information

179
00:06:50,470 --> 00:06:53,670
out to congress. And and there's there's members

180
00:06:53,670 --> 00:06:54,170
that

181
00:06:54,634 --> 00:06:55,854
are here today

182
00:06:56,235 --> 00:06:59,454
that are very involved as as congress members.

183
00:06:59,514 --> 00:07:02,014
So it's very interesting seeing that come about.

184
00:07:02,074 --> 00:07:04,074
That's amazing to hear. Well, Sean, I wanna

185
00:07:04,074 --> 00:07:05,675
thank you once again for your time today

186
00:07:05,675 --> 00:07:07,115
and for sharing your insights on the Becker's

187
00:07:07,115 --> 00:07:09,134
healthcare podcast. Thank you so much.