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Hello everyone. This is Erica Spicer Mason with

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Becker's Healthcare. Thank you so much for tuning

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into the Becker's Healthcare podcast series today.

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So today we're going to talk about how

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orthopedic and MSK practices are using automation,

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mobile tools, and AI to tackle issues like

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staffing shortages,

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admin burden, and care access as we head

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into 2026.

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And joining me for this conversation, we have

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Molly Van Oort, the director of specialty account

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management at NextGen Healthcare.

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So a little bit about Molly. She has

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nearly twenty years of experience in healthcare IT,

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and she combines clinical and technical expertise with

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a passion for customer success.

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Her broad expertise spans her time in an

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orthopedic practice, as well as consulting for various

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healthcare organizations.

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Molly's unique perspective as a market strategist, subject

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matter expert, and advocate for specialty practices

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empowers providers to deliver better care, improve the

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patient and provider experience, and overcome industry challenges.

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And outside of work, Molly enjoys life in

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beautiful Northern Michigan with her husband, dog, two

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grown children, and a growing list of grandchildren.

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Molly, great to learn more about you. Thank

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you so much for being with Becker's today.

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Thank you for having me.

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Well, it's great to have you with us.

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And,

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to get our conversation started, I I wanted

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to just get your take first on any

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major trends that you're seeing shaping the orthopedic

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market right now, especially as we head into

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the new year.

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Yeah. Orthopedic practices are truly experiencing a steady

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increase in demand.

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As people live and remain active longer, our

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aging population is experiencing more conditions requiring orthopedic

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care.

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In addition, the prevalence of sports injuries continues

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to climb, contributing further to patient volumes.

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And chronic MSK issues are also on the

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rise, adding to the overall need for orthopedic

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care.

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But orthopedic practices are currently navigating the dual

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challenge of rising patient volumes and those ongoing

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staffing shortages.

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As demand continues to grow, practices are finding

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it increasingly difficult to keep pace with patient

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needs,

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and the staffing gaps are evident in key

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operational areas such as scheduling,

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call centers, intake, referrals, and even previsit workflows.

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Shortages

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also extend to professional roles.

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We're seeing shortages in nursing, radiology,

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and essential back office positions like the coders

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and billers.

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And even minor staff shortages

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can lead to longer wait times and operational

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bottlenecks.

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Ultimately, these are all reducing patient access and

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increasing the stress for both staff and providers.

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But, of course, throughput within practices is also

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affected by the need to balance growing demand

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with that limited staff capacity.

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And operational fit inefficiencies

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can slow down patient flow

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resulting in delays and reduced practice productivity.

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The reality,

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administrative burden on both providers and staff has

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intensified.

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Persistent gaps in professional and back office positions

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mean that remaining employees must navigate more complex

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workflows and

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administrative hoops,

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increasing stress levels and further straining resources.

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There's also a growing urgency for the orthopedic

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practices to modernize their operations.

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To address ongoing staff shortages and increase patient

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volumes,

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many practices are turning to technology based solutions,

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Automation,

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mobile tools,

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artificial intelligence

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are quickly becoming mainstream

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as organizations seek to streamline workflows and improve

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efficiencies.

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Also, orthopedic practices are actively seeking methods to

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reduce

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staff, boost capacity,

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and all of that means leveraging technology solutions

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and streamlining existing workflows.

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Practices aim to meet rising patient volumes and

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operational demands.

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The goal is to maintain high quality care

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and efficient service delivery

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even when the workforce

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expansion is not feasible.

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And, Molly, this is such a helpful overview.

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And, really, what you're saying here so closely

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aligns with what we're seeing even at Becker's,

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in our own reporting and coverage,

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in this area of care. But it it's

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interesting to hear how the staffing shortages is

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translating not just to challenges of keeping up

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with demand, but it also impacts patient access

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when we're seeing longer wait times, as you

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mentioned, operational bottlenecks.

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And I understand that NextGen conducted a survey

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recently that that found that nearly half of

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MSK leaders

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see automation as a key to addressing some

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of these staffing shortages.

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And I know you you started to touch

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on technology and automation, how that's playing a

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role here. Can you elaborate a little bit

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there and talk a little bit about the

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kinds of automation that are gaining traction?

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Of course. Orthopedic practices are increasingly seeking automation

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solutions that

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specifically address the repetitive and high volume administrative

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tasks.

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By implementing automated systems for these routine functions,

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practices can streamline their workflows and alleviate that

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workload that often burdens staff members.

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This targeted approach to automation enables staff to

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devote more attention to patient centered aspects of

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care.

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Rather than spending excessive time on manual,

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time consuming processes.

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As a result, practices are better positioned to

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maintain operational efficiency

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and improve overall patient experience

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even in the face of those staffing shortages.

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Several automation solutions are making a significant difference

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in streamlining operations within orthopedic practices.

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Implementing digital intake forms streamlines the process for

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collecting patient information prior to appointments.

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This automation actually reduces the time spent by

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the staff on manual data entry and allows

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for efficient management of patient records, which, of

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course, helps staff focus on direct patient care.

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Automated insurance verification systems

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assist in quickly confirming patient coverage, eliminating the

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need for time consuming manual checks.

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This consistency

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ensures smoother workflows

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and fewer delays,

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ultimately improving the patient experience.

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Automating patient reminders and confirmations

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reduces the need for staff to make repetitive

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phone calls.

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This system increases reliability in communication

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and helps maintain an organized schedule, freeing staff

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for other essentials.

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And automated referral routing simplifies the process for

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directing patients to appropriate specialists or services,

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and orthopedics

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lives and dies

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by those referrals.

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So minimizing manual

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intervention,

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practices can ensure timely and accurate referrals

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supporting that continuity of care. Automation and prior

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authorization

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also expedites the approval process for procedures

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and treatments, which, of course, reduces administrative delays

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and allows staff to focus on more patient

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centered activities.

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Yeah. Molly, I I appreciate the overview.

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You know, when we talk about automation, it

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can be such an umbrella term of sorts.

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So I appreciate how you've broken down all

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of these different kind of lanes, especially administrative

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tasks where these tools can be applied for

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greater efficiencies.

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And I know when we're talking about efficiencies

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too, so often capacity

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comes up, and we are still facing quite

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a capacity crisis in health care, both clinically

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speaking and administratively.

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And I understand the NextGen survey also showed

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that even a 10%

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increase in nonclinical

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capacity would significantly help to improve patient access.

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So in your view, where can practices realistically

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reclaim that time?

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So previs at work often eats up significant

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time, and it's frequently an unnoticed

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time consumer.

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Tasks such as preparing those digital intake forms,

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verifying insurance, managing reminders and confirmation workflows,

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managing those referrals, and supporting prior authorizations

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all collectively add to that administrative burden faced

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by staff.

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Although these activities are essential for smooth practice

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operations,

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they can be time intensive

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and detract from the ability to focus on

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patient facing responsibilities.

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Recognizing and addressing the time spent on these

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pre visit processes

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is crucial for practices

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seeking to optimize efficiency

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and reclaim valuable staff capacity for more impactful

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human centered acts of aspects of care.

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Implementing those digital intake forms and automated reminder

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systems

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plays a significant role in minimizing the need

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for inbound phone calls and manual follow-up tasks.

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By allowing patients to complete those forms electronically

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before their visit and sending reminders automatically,

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practices can streamline administrative workflows.

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This approach not only reduces the time

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staff spend on repetitive communication,

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but also enables more efficient management of patient

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information

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and

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appointment confirmations

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freeing up valuable time for other responsibilities.

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Yeah. So helpful to know, Molly. Thank you.

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And from, again, that same survey, I understand

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that a significant portion of MSK groups are

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already using mobile tools,

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or AI documentation.

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So I would love to know a little

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bit more about what you see as driving

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adoption of those tools.

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Documentation

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burden is one of the biggest sources of

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provider burnout in MSK.

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The extensive time and effort required to complete

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documentation

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tasks can detract from the time providers spend

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with patients

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and contribute significantly

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to stress and fatigue.

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By implementing streamlined documentation workflows, such as utilizing

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mobile charting tools and AI powered solutions,

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practices can minimize the manual work and follow

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ups that typically lead to burnout.

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These improvements

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enable providers to focus more on patient care

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and reduce the pressure associated with maintaining thorough

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records,

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ultimately supporting both provider well-being and overall practice

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efficiency.

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Mobile tools empower providers to chart information efficiently

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while on the move, which of course for

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orthopedics is critically important, whether they're in the

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office, the OR, or even at home.

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But really, the goal is minimizing time spent

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sitting at a traditional workstation or computer.

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This flexibility

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allows clinicians to document care in real time

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directly at the point of service,

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which not only streamlines workflows,

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but helps maintain focus on patient interactions.

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Additionally, the AI assisted documentation

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plays a crucial role in ex expediting chart

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closure

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and enhancing the accuracy of patient records.

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Remove

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the human error.

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By automating routine documentation tasks and supporting providers

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with intelligent suggestions,

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these solutions reduce the administrative burden and decrease

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the likelihood of errors.

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Together, mobile tools and AI enabled workflows

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contribute to more efficient documentation processes,

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allowing providers to devote more of their attention

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to patient care.

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And a key motivation behind the adoption of

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mobile tools and AI assisted documentation

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is the desire among providers to spend more

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time with their patients

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and less time managing administrative

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tasks such as chasing notes.

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By streamlining documentation processes,

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these solutions help clinicians reclaim valuable hours that

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would otherwise be devoted to just catching up

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on paperwork.

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Yeah. Molly, I can't tell you enough how

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much I appreciate the insights you've shared today

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about what's possible with

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automation,

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AI strategies, especially for orthopedic and MSK practices.

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It sounds like they're facing,

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similar challenges

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to the broader health care space, but also,

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some greater challenges, especially when it comes to

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documentation, as you've mentioned,

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referrals and access.

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So really appreciate the conversation. And as we

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close, I just wanna highlight one more finding

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from that survey that NextGen conducted because I

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think it kind of nicely brings together all

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of the themes that we've touched on.

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So the survey showed that just over a

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quarter of respondents

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see AI as a strategic efficiency lever.

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And despite and that's despite widespread usage and

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strong outcomes. So relatively small number of respondents,

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I would say.

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Why do you think that gap exists, and

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what results are you seeing from practices that

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really lean in here?

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Many practices view AI as a useful feature,

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not yet a strategic investment.

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For most practices, the initial improvements

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brought by AI, such as reducing the amount

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of typing and streamlining charting tasks,

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feel truly

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tactical rather than transformational.

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As a result, AI is often perceived as

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a helpful tool for managing daily workflow

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rather than as a core element of modernization

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efforts.

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Orthopedics is a specialty

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characterized by high volume of data and

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fast paced clinical environment.

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In such settings, the initial adoption of AI

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powered documentation and mobile tools tends to deliver

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improvements that are primarily

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tactical in nature.

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For example, clinicians experience more efficient workflow processes,

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which help them manage extensive data requirements and

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rapid patient turnover.

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But these early enhancements, such as streamlined documentation

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and reduced time spent on administrative

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tasks,

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addresses immediate operational challenges without

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fundamentally altering the overall strategic direction of the

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practice.

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As a result, the benefits are felt in

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day to day activities, making the tools appear

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as valuable features

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rather than transformative investments.

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But as practices continue to observe the impact

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of AI powered documentation

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solutions over time,

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they begin to realize a broad spectrum of

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significant benefits.

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These include accelerated chart closure, which allows for

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more timely completion of patient records and a

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noticeable reduction in after hour documentation,

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helping providers maintain a healthier work life balance.

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Additionally,

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enhanced accuracy

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contributes to fewer downstream coding issues,

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streamlining both administrative and billing processes.

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Providers also experience more opportunities for direct interaction

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with patients, ultimately leading to greater provider satisfaction

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and improved quality of care.

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Over time, AI becomes part of a broader

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modernization

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strategy.

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As practices observe the tangible benefits of AI,

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they begin to recognize its potential beyond immediate

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operational improvements.

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Ultimately,

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these advantages contribute to shift in perspective.

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AI

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evolves from being viewed as a helpful tool

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for daily workflow management

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to being considered a key component

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in the strategic transformation of orthopedic practices.

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The adoption of AI becomes intertwined with efforts

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to modernize clinical operations,

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reflecting a shift from short term gains

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to sustainable transformation.

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And practices increasingly

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leveraging

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AI to streamline processes

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will see reduced administrative burdens,

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facilitate more meaningful interactions between providers and patients,

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which all directly contribute to both operational excellence

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and better patient outcomes.

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Well, it's been

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so great, Molly, to hear about all of

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the possibilities that,

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that are there and that you've witnessed when

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you see organizations lean into innovation in this

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way. So I wanna thank you again for

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being with Becker's today and giving us your

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time and insights.

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Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

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And we'd also like to thank our podcast

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sponsor, NextGen Healthcare.

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Listeners, be sure to tune into more podcasts

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from Becker's by visiting our podcast page at

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beckershospitalreview.com.