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To learn 13 00:00:30,649 --> 00:00:32,929 more, visit carecredit.com 14 00:00:32,929 --> 00:00:34,789 forward slash beckers podcast. 15 00:00:35,649 --> 00:00:37,649 This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare 16 00:00:37,649 --> 00:00:39,489 Podcast, and we are recording live at the 17 00:00:39,489 --> 00:00:42,549 thirty first annual business and operations of ASCs. 18 00:00:43,045 --> 00:00:45,125 I'm currently joined by Andrew Lovewell, who is 19 00:00:45,125 --> 00:00:48,244 the CEO at Columbia Orthopedic Group. So, Andrew, 20 00:00:48,244 --> 00:00:49,684 thanks for being here. To kick us off, 21 00:00:49,684 --> 00:00:50,964 can you please share a little bit about 22 00:00:50,964 --> 00:00:52,984 yourself and your work in the ASC space? 23 00:00:53,284 --> 00:00:55,204 Yeah. My name is Andrew Lovewell. I'm the 24 00:00:55,204 --> 00:00:58,085 CEO of Columbia Orthopedic Group. We are a 25 00:00:58,085 --> 00:01:01,310 large private practice, MSK Ortho Group in the 26 00:01:01,310 --> 00:01:02,130 state of Missouri. 27 00:01:02,670 --> 00:01:03,890 Own a very large, 28 00:01:04,189 --> 00:01:05,810 super successful ASC, 29 00:01:06,349 --> 00:01:07,810 imaging center, pharmacy, 30 00:01:08,109 --> 00:01:08,609 DME, 31 00:01:09,629 --> 00:01:10,769 real estate investment, 32 00:01:11,655 --> 00:01:14,615 PBM, telehealth company, kind of everything we have 33 00:01:14,615 --> 00:01:16,935 that can touch the patient and increase our 34 00:01:16,935 --> 00:01:18,775 value that we deliver to our patients. So 35 00:01:18,775 --> 00:01:20,234 I've been in the health care space 36 00:01:20,694 --> 00:01:22,635 about sixteen years in academics, 37 00:01:24,070 --> 00:01:27,430 also ASC management, now, the private practice space. 38 00:01:27,430 --> 00:01:30,329 So excited for our discussion today. Wonderful. 39 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:32,549 And let's start off talking about the ASC 40 00:01:32,549 --> 00:01:34,630 market. In The US, this is projected to 41 00:01:34,630 --> 00:01:36,310 reach $60,800,000,000 42 00:01:36,310 --> 00:01:37,450 by 2030 43 00:01:37,645 --> 00:01:39,645 and continues to experience strong year over year 44 00:01:39,645 --> 00:01:41,805 growth. So from your perspective, what are the 45 00:01:41,805 --> 00:01:44,204 most significant trends and market forces driving this 46 00:01:44,204 --> 00:01:46,765 expansion and how should ASC leaders be preparing 47 00:01:46,765 --> 00:01:47,265 today? 48 00:01:47,885 --> 00:01:49,965 Yeah. I think that, one of the big 49 00:01:49,965 --> 00:01:53,260 things that's driving that growth is the migration 50 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,640 of cases from the hospital to the ASC 51 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:57,400 space. You know, we see this happening a 52 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,400 lot in the ortho and MSK space with 53 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:00,780 spine and total joints. 54 00:02:01,159 --> 00:02:03,319 See this happening in the cardiology space as 55 00:02:03,319 --> 00:02:03,819 well. 56 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:05,560 I think also one of the big things 57 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:07,180 that's kinda making that 58 00:02:07,545 --> 00:02:08,444 transition possible 59 00:02:09,305 --> 00:02:10,905 is in America, you know, a lot of 60 00:02:10,985 --> 00:02:12,664 there's a lot of self funded health plans, 61 00:02:12,664 --> 00:02:15,544 you know, employer sponsored health care. So employers 62 00:02:15,544 --> 00:02:17,784 are trying to save cost on what they're 63 00:02:17,784 --> 00:02:19,245 providing for their employees, 64 00:02:19,870 --> 00:02:22,110 and they've shifted a lot of their demand 65 00:02:22,110 --> 00:02:24,189 towards ASC space. You saw that happen with 66 00:02:24,189 --> 00:02:25,710 Walmart a few years ago with their center 67 00:02:25,710 --> 00:02:26,770 of excellent program, 68 00:02:27,069 --> 00:02:28,909 you know, debated on whether or not that 69 00:02:28,909 --> 00:02:31,069 was successful based on who they used. You're 70 00:02:31,069 --> 00:02:33,685 also seeing that happen with, you know, people 71 00:02:33,685 --> 00:02:36,004 picking GI type places that are in the 72 00:02:36,004 --> 00:02:37,465 ASC space over hospitals. 73 00:02:37,764 --> 00:02:39,365 I would see a lot more employers kinda 74 00:02:39,365 --> 00:02:40,344 make that demand 75 00:02:40,724 --> 00:02:43,625 on how cases get shifted to the ASC. 76 00:02:43,844 --> 00:02:46,650 You're also gonna see more employers offer free 77 00:02:46,650 --> 00:02:48,889 or reduced cost on their health plan to 78 00:02:48,889 --> 00:02:51,069 people who choose that route because it does 79 00:02:51,129 --> 00:02:53,689 provide a savings to the employer group when 80 00:02:53,689 --> 00:02:56,090 they're providing those benefits to the employees. So, 81 00:02:56,090 --> 00:02:57,150 overall, it's kinda 82 00:02:57,449 --> 00:02:59,541 mixes together to deliver a really perfect storm 83 00:02:59,541 --> 00:02:59,632 for ASCs to expand. You know, as an 84 00:02:59,632 --> 00:02:59,724 ASC, you gotta be ready for that by, 85 00:02:59,724 --> 00:03:00,520 you know, do you have all 86 00:03:00,944 --> 00:03:01,765 expand. You 87 00:03:02,865 --> 00:03:04,105 know, as an ASC, you gotta be ready 88 00:03:04,105 --> 00:03:04,944 for that by, you know, do you have 89 00:03:04,944 --> 00:03:06,545 all the technology in place? Do you have 90 00:03:06,545 --> 00:03:08,465 the staff in place? Or is your block 91 00:03:08,465 --> 00:03:10,784 schedule optimized where you can kind of produce 92 00:03:10,784 --> 00:03:12,784 at that level? So just getting all your 93 00:03:12,784 --> 00:03:14,224 ducks in a row, making sure you got 94 00:03:14,224 --> 00:03:16,439 the basics in place, you know, even before 95 00:03:16,439 --> 00:03:18,280 we start exploring the AI side of things. 96 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,120 Like, let's just get the basics right so 97 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:21,879 we can deliver and, you know, get those 98 00:03:21,879 --> 00:03:24,199 cases are gonna move over. So I would 99 00:03:24,199 --> 00:03:26,120 give that kinda nugget as, like, you know, 100 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,545 just check all the boxes, be prepared for, 101 00:03:28,545 --> 00:03:31,025 you know, the migration and continued migration of 102 00:03:31,025 --> 00:03:32,004 cases coming. 103 00:03:32,705 --> 00:03:35,344 And from AI and robotic surgeries to advanced 104 00:03:35,344 --> 00:03:38,145 EHR systems, technology remains both make or break 105 00:03:38,145 --> 00:03:40,465 factor and a critical driver of ASC operations 106 00:03:40,465 --> 00:03:41,125 at scale. 107 00:03:41,430 --> 00:03:43,050 How do you see a deeper tech integration 108 00:03:43,110 --> 00:03:45,270 shaping the way ASCs deliver care and manage 109 00:03:45,270 --> 00:03:46,969 their business over the next few years? 110 00:03:47,349 --> 00:03:48,949 I think that's a great question. You know, 111 00:03:48,949 --> 00:03:50,090 I I would anticipate 112 00:03:50,790 --> 00:03:53,349 if if it's an ASC that hasn't invested 113 00:03:53,349 --> 00:03:56,564 in technology yet. Right? So somebody who doesn't 114 00:03:56,564 --> 00:03:59,544 have an EHR, doesn't have a inventory management 115 00:03:59,685 --> 00:04:02,164 system or some type of nature there, I 116 00:04:02,164 --> 00:04:04,664 would strategically look at that as an opportunity 117 00:04:04,724 --> 00:04:07,560 for your next horizon of strategic planning because 118 00:04:07,719 --> 00:04:09,979 that's gonna give you more data and information 119 00:04:10,039 --> 00:04:12,120 to make decisions. I think that it's going 120 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:13,259 to provide you 121 00:04:13,639 --> 00:04:16,379 with the tools necessary to recruit more surgeons 122 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:19,800 and also optimize your ASC better. I would 123 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:21,500 also tell you one of the big drivers 124 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,100 that we've used to, 125 00:04:23,824 --> 00:04:26,245 help us from a patient facing standpoint 126 00:04:26,785 --> 00:04:29,264 is using technology that automates a lot of 127 00:04:29,264 --> 00:04:32,465 our processes, whether that's reminding patients to stop 128 00:04:32,465 --> 00:04:34,625 taking a medication ahead of time, whether it's 129 00:04:34,625 --> 00:04:36,545 having people fill out their health history via 130 00:04:36,545 --> 00:04:39,180 a technological app so it integrates into our 131 00:04:39,339 --> 00:04:42,160 EHR and our ASC. You know, just using 132 00:04:42,220 --> 00:04:44,300 the tech to take away some of the 133 00:04:44,300 --> 00:04:46,139 busy work that your staff have to do 134 00:04:46,139 --> 00:04:48,459 today is gonna be huge because you're really 135 00:04:48,459 --> 00:04:49,979 gonna want your staff to do the high 136 00:04:49,979 --> 00:04:51,439 value or high 137 00:04:51,995 --> 00:04:54,714 yield tasks, not the repetitive things that are 138 00:04:54,714 --> 00:04:56,154 going to kinda get in the way of 139 00:04:56,154 --> 00:04:57,834 making sure you have all that information in 140 00:04:57,834 --> 00:04:58,574 place. So 141 00:04:58,875 --> 00:05:01,194 leveraging the simple stuff out there, there's tons 142 00:05:01,194 --> 00:05:03,435 of, you know, technology you can use. A 143 00:05:03,435 --> 00:05:07,539 couple EHR PMs is HST and SIS, both 144 00:05:07,539 --> 00:05:10,339 great products. You know, One Medical Passport has 145 00:05:10,339 --> 00:05:12,419 a really nice interface and tool that you 146 00:05:12,419 --> 00:05:14,599 can use. It's super slick. 147 00:05:15,060 --> 00:05:18,599 IOS envy, a hybrid. There's great inventory management 148 00:05:18,660 --> 00:05:22,044 systems today. Like, just explore these things, see 149 00:05:22,044 --> 00:05:24,444 how they fit into your ASC and deliver 150 00:05:24,444 --> 00:05:25,584 value for you. 151 00:05:26,125 --> 00:05:27,485 And then, you know, when we get into 152 00:05:27,485 --> 00:05:31,165 the AI space and robotics, like, let's let's 153 00:05:31,165 --> 00:05:33,245 tiptoe into that cautiously and make sure that 154 00:05:33,245 --> 00:05:36,420 it's gonna actually produce value before we explore, 155 00:05:36,420 --> 00:05:38,759 purchase, and, you know, taking on that. 156 00:05:39,620 --> 00:05:41,860 And follow-up to that, is there one specific 157 00:05:41,860 --> 00:05:43,860 technology or innovation that stands out to you 158 00:05:43,860 --> 00:05:45,080 as especially transformative? 159 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:47,860 I think it depends on what stage you're 160 00:05:47,860 --> 00:05:49,939 at. Right? So if you say I'm an 161 00:05:49,939 --> 00:05:50,439 ASC, 162 00:05:51,055 --> 00:05:53,535 and I don't have a practice management system 163 00:05:53,535 --> 00:05:54,435 with an integrated, 164 00:05:55,535 --> 00:05:58,914 inventory management platform, well, that's a really strategic 165 00:05:58,974 --> 00:06:01,154 thing you should do that would add value 166 00:06:01,375 --> 00:06:03,294 very quickly. You could get some case costing 167 00:06:03,294 --> 00:06:05,169 out of it. If you're an ASC that 168 00:06:05,169 --> 00:06:07,889 has, you know, an EHR and the PM 169 00:06:07,889 --> 00:06:10,790 and the inventory management system all integrated already, 170 00:06:10,930 --> 00:06:12,370 you know, maybe we should look at some 171 00:06:12,370 --> 00:06:15,250 kind of digital arrival and tracking system to 172 00:06:15,250 --> 00:06:17,089 make sure that all of our patients fill 173 00:06:17,089 --> 00:06:19,154 out their health histories and, you know, they're 174 00:06:19,154 --> 00:06:21,654 getting all the automated prompting on the medications 175 00:06:21,875 --> 00:06:23,875 and all those things ahead of time. You 176 00:06:23,875 --> 00:06:25,954 know, is there a patient tracking software we 177 00:06:25,954 --> 00:06:27,974 need to use, like, Ospitec in the ASC 178 00:06:28,115 --> 00:06:30,134 so we can track our patients and know 179 00:06:30,274 --> 00:06:32,595 actually how we perform on turnover times and 180 00:06:32,595 --> 00:06:34,274 how we perform on in the room time 181 00:06:34,274 --> 00:06:36,729 and those things. Like, just exploring where you're 182 00:06:36,729 --> 00:06:38,490 at in the process and then figuring out 183 00:06:38,490 --> 00:06:40,829 adjunctive technologies that support you 184 00:06:41,209 --> 00:06:43,209 is is really the key player. You know, 185 00:06:43,209 --> 00:06:45,129 if if you've got all those things done, 186 00:06:45,129 --> 00:06:46,649 yeah, let's look at some AI. You know, 187 00:06:46,649 --> 00:06:48,089 what what can we use? Is there an 188 00:06:48,089 --> 00:06:49,149 AI coding software? 189 00:06:49,664 --> 00:06:50,564 Is there an AI, 190 00:06:50,944 --> 00:06:53,204 pre cert software we could use? You know, 191 00:06:53,264 --> 00:06:56,144 we don't wanna also, like, over adopt point 192 00:06:56,144 --> 00:06:58,164 solutions. So making sure you partner 193 00:06:58,544 --> 00:07:00,625 with somebody who's a true partner, not a 194 00:07:00,625 --> 00:07:03,519 vendor, is is really the the use case 195 00:07:03,519 --> 00:07:04,500 you have to explore. 196 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,279 Anybody can add point solutions, but you're gonna 197 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,439 end up with point solution fatigue by just 198 00:07:09,439 --> 00:07:11,459 adding and adding and adding to it. So 199 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:12,660 establishing 200 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:14,959 what it is we're trying to solve for 201 00:07:14,959 --> 00:07:16,975 and who can solve for the most problems 202 00:07:16,975 --> 00:07:18,894 at one time is going to be really 203 00:07:18,894 --> 00:07:20,274 the key to success there. 204 00:07:20,975 --> 00:07:24,014 And with 60% of health systems considering ASC 205 00:07:24,014 --> 00:07:26,735 joint ventures and many ASCs already partnering with 206 00:07:26,735 --> 00:07:29,134 systems in their communities, what opportunities do you 207 00:07:29,134 --> 00:07:31,919 see for collaboration whether with other providers or 208 00:07:31,919 --> 00:07:34,899 vendors, to strengthen patient care and operational efficiency? 209 00:07:35,759 --> 00:07:37,439 I would say one of the big places 210 00:07:37,439 --> 00:07:38,579 that ASCs 211 00:07:39,199 --> 00:07:42,339 can partner is is really in their internal 212 00:07:42,879 --> 00:07:44,399 partners they already have. You know, if you're 213 00:07:44,399 --> 00:07:46,115 with a physician's group, how can you get 214 00:07:46,115 --> 00:07:48,035 more aligned with that physician's group? Are there 215 00:07:48,035 --> 00:07:49,254 things you can do there 216 00:07:49,634 --> 00:07:50,295 that demonstrate 217 00:07:50,675 --> 00:07:53,314 economies of scale, whether that's, you know, doing 218 00:07:53,314 --> 00:07:55,714 accounting or purchasing together, things like that? If 219 00:07:55,714 --> 00:07:57,955 you're partnering with a management company, what other 220 00:07:57,955 --> 00:08:00,274 offerings do they have that could come into 221 00:08:00,274 --> 00:08:01,430 your ASC to 222 00:08:01,889 --> 00:08:04,689 establish growth, whether that's physician recruitment funding or 223 00:08:04,689 --> 00:08:07,250 some other mechanism like that. I would also 224 00:08:07,250 --> 00:08:08,610 say if you're if you're partnering with a 225 00:08:08,610 --> 00:08:10,769 hospital system, you know, there there kind of 226 00:08:10,769 --> 00:08:12,629 is a, I would say, a competitive 227 00:08:13,175 --> 00:08:15,415 thing that happens there where the hospitals want 228 00:08:15,415 --> 00:08:17,175 the cases, you want the cases, you know, 229 00:08:17,175 --> 00:08:17,834 just establishing 230 00:08:18,535 --> 00:08:20,935 the ground rules and how we all work 231 00:08:20,935 --> 00:08:22,954 together to get cases is ideal. 232 00:08:23,495 --> 00:08:25,095 You know, I think that that's a very, 233 00:08:25,095 --> 00:08:26,935 very key thing when you're partnering in a 234 00:08:26,935 --> 00:08:27,995 JV like that. 235 00:08:28,540 --> 00:08:31,920 Outside of that, partnering with vendors slash partners 236 00:08:31,980 --> 00:08:34,460 is really important because there's a lot of 237 00:08:34,460 --> 00:08:37,100 cool new innovative technologies that we talked about 238 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:38,639 that are out there that can help. 239 00:08:39,100 --> 00:08:41,500 But, you know, you don't wanna over partner 240 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:43,804 because then you're just gonna be chasing contract 241 00:08:43,804 --> 00:08:45,324 management and other things like that, and then 242 00:08:45,324 --> 00:08:47,024 you're gonna find a partner for that. So 243 00:08:47,245 --> 00:08:49,565 how do you figure out what's key for 244 00:08:49,565 --> 00:08:52,704 you in kind of in inspecting or investigating 245 00:08:53,644 --> 00:08:55,904 the right partner at the right time 246 00:08:56,230 --> 00:08:58,330 is gonna be, very key. 247 00:08:59,190 --> 00:09:01,190 And is there anything we haven't touched on 248 00:09:01,190 --> 00:09:03,110 yet that you would like to share or 249 00:09:03,110 --> 00:09:05,269 any final thoughts as we wrap up this, 250 00:09:05,509 --> 00:09:06,490 podcast episode? 251 00:09:06,950 --> 00:09:08,389 Yeah. Sure. I think I think one of 252 00:09:08,389 --> 00:09:10,894 the final kinda takeaways I would give on 253 00:09:10,894 --> 00:09:13,315 the ASC side of things is, 254 00:09:13,774 --> 00:09:14,434 you know, 255 00:09:14,975 --> 00:09:18,434 understand that you have power and you have 256 00:09:18,495 --> 00:09:21,315 value that's very hard to match because 257 00:09:21,934 --> 00:09:23,475 what we can do in an ASC 258 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:26,019 versus a hospital 259 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,139 or a larger tertiary care center 260 00:09:29,759 --> 00:09:30,659 is so 261 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:31,940 valuable. 262 00:09:32,399 --> 00:09:34,639 Employers want it. You know? So going out 263 00:09:34,639 --> 00:09:38,225 and providing that education to employers to make 264 00:09:38,225 --> 00:09:40,144 sure they're well aware of the things that 265 00:09:40,144 --> 00:09:42,625 you guys can provide is is key. You 266 00:09:42,625 --> 00:09:44,225 know, making sure you don't give that up 267 00:09:44,225 --> 00:09:46,545 to the payers, that that power and that 268 00:09:46,545 --> 00:09:48,465 value you have because the payers are gonna 269 00:09:48,465 --> 00:09:50,384 try to diminish what we do as an 270 00:09:50,384 --> 00:09:51,445 ASC. So, 271 00:09:51,830 --> 00:09:53,669 you know, bringing in the medical director for 272 00:09:53,669 --> 00:09:55,350 the, you know, Blue Cross plan in your 273 00:09:55,350 --> 00:09:56,809 state, you know, talking to UnitedHealthcare, 274 00:09:57,269 --> 00:10:00,090 trying trying to get more collaboration 275 00:10:00,470 --> 00:10:02,389 through the payers is gonna be a big 276 00:10:02,389 --> 00:10:04,870 deal and I think extremely important in your 277 00:10:04,870 --> 00:10:05,370 success. 278 00:10:05,845 --> 00:10:08,404 So just recognizing that what you do is 279 00:10:08,404 --> 00:10:10,985 extremely valuable. It's a huge part of our 280 00:10:11,524 --> 00:10:13,445 opportunity to bend the cost curve of health 281 00:10:13,445 --> 00:10:15,924 care just in general. So making sure you're 282 00:10:15,924 --> 00:10:18,404 informed, you know, you're reading Becker's, doing the 283 00:10:18,404 --> 00:10:20,980 things, you know, that continue to educate you 284 00:10:20,980 --> 00:10:22,200 as an ASC administrator 285 00:10:22,580 --> 00:10:25,540 or owner is very essential. So I would 286 00:10:25,540 --> 00:10:27,720 just encourage people, you know, to be informed, 287 00:10:28,019 --> 00:10:29,320 be on top of the information, 288 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:31,414 and and know exactly 289 00:10:32,115 --> 00:10:33,732 what you can provide to the employer group, 290 00:10:33,732 --> 00:10:35,714 to the insurance, to all those, you know, 291 00:10:35,714 --> 00:10:36,214 stakeholders 292 00:10:36,674 --> 00:10:38,534 is gonna be a very big, 293 00:10:38,995 --> 00:10:40,294 thing to keep track of. 294 00:10:41,235 --> 00:10:42,914 Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for joining 295 00:10:42,914 --> 00:10:44,881 me today and sharing these thoughts and insights 296 00:10:44,881 --> 00:10:46,881 on the podcast. Again, we are recording live 297 00:10:46,881 --> 00:10:49,061 at the thirty first annual business and operations 298 00:10:49,281 --> 00:10:51,781 of ASCs. Thank you. Appreciate it.