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forward slash beckers podcast.
This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare
Podcast, and we are recording live at the
thirty first annual business and operations of ASCs.
I'm currently sitting down with Jeffrey Singerman, who
is the administrator and COO at Manhattan Endoscopy
Center. Jeffrey, thanks for being here. To kick
us off, can you share a little bit
about yourself and your work in the ASC
space? Sure. Good morning. So as you said,
my name is Jeff Singerman. I am the
chief operating officer slash administrator for Manhattan Endoscopy.
We are a single specialty,
nonhospital affiliated,
ASC
located in Midtown Manhattan.
We are GI specific. We have seven procedure
rooms and should probably end the year with
about 10,000 patients coming through the door.
Alright.
Well, thanks for being here. And let's start
our conversation with the ASC market. Because in
The US, this is projected to reach $60,800,000,000
by 2030,
and it continues to experience strong year over
year growth. From your perspective, what are the
most significant trends in market forces driving this
expansion, and how should ASC leaders be preparing
today?
So I think part of this trend is
contributed
to the
cost base between the hospital, the hospital OPD,
and the ASC.
The cost base is much lower
at in the within the ASC environment.
And our outcomes,
I'm happy to say, are probably as good,
if not better, than what goes on in
the hospital. And then the second part that
I think is contributing to this
is
that we can pivot
from a technological
standpoint
much quicker
than the larger health systems that have to
go through layers and layers of bureaucracy
to obtain what we can do in almost
a instantaneous
decision.
From a administrator's
standpoint or a COO standpoint,
I believe that you need to be flexible,
open minded, and evaluate
what your ROI is gonna be on any
investment that you're gonna make as this trend
continues.
Absolutely.
And shifting gears slightly
from AI and robotic surgeries to advanced DHR
systems, technology does remain a make or break
factor and a critical driver of ASC operations
at scale.
So how do you see deeper deeper tech
integration shaping the way ASCs deliver care and
manage their business over the next few years?
So I kinda divide this into
two different venues. I think one is a
clinical venue and one is an administrative venue.
So from a clinical standpoint
and we've gone through
two, if not three tests of AI,
and its current iteration,
it really has not helped in the GI
environment.
I think when we look out in 2030,
I think where we'll probably see the most
advances
will be in polyp detection
and possibly being able to look at when
a when a gastroenterologist
is doing histology,
in an area where their mucosal changes,
that they conceivably
determine if this is cancers or not before
it's ever removed from the body.
But where I really see
in 2030, and if not sooner,
the impacts on the administrative side, which would
ultimately, I believe, reduce staffing
and
help
in the area of documentation
from a physician standpoint as well
that they can meet the criteria
that the insurance companies are putting up there
to
inhibit reimbursement
or look for excuses to deny claims.
And following up to that, is there any
specific technology or innovation that stands out to
you as especially transformative?
Probably gonna be on the EMR side.
And I I see beta testing now going
on in
voice dictation for procedure notes,
much different than what we saw in radiology
in the last five to ten years.
And I'm also starting to see it in
working with one company and helping to develop
some of it in the procedure documentation area.
And I think those may have the biggest
impact in the next eighteen to twenty four
months. 100%.
And with 60% of health systems considering ASC
joint ventures
and many ASCs already partnering with systems in
their communities, what opportunities do you see for
collaboration whether with other providers or vendors to
strengthen patient care and operational efficiency?
Great question.
And I think where I see the it's
a couple places where I'm gonna there will
be a large impact. One, I think it's
gonna make it easier, especially with hot hospital
partnerships,
to recruit
and do succession planning. So if you think
about it now, the average fellow coming out
of,
fellowship is probably somewhere about a half $1,000,000
in debt
and has to make a decision, do I
go to an ASC environment or a hospital
environment? And right now, the hospital environment is
more
conducive
for salary stabilization.
If there's that partnership there,
the hospital
can direct or feed the ASC environment
the
physicians necessary to maintain as close to a
100% occupancy as possible.
The second area, and there's a nationwide shortage
in anesthesia and nursing,
they'll help that as well in being able
to move staff around to
substitute in where there are callouts and of
that nature.
And as we wrap up our conversation today,
is there anything that we didn't touch on
or any final thoughts you'd like to share
on the podcast?
Yeah. I think from an administrative standpoint, I
think any administrator needs to be flexible,
and they need to do their homework. They
need to do their due diligence to ensure
that whatever investments they're making are gonna be
in the best interest for the ASC.
Absolutely. Well, Jeff, thanks so much for being
here today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast to
share these thoughts and insights. Again, we are
recording live at the thirty first annual business
and operations of ASCs. Thank you. My pleasure.