1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,220 Imagine this. You're at the Hyatt Regency Chicago 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:05,859 surrounded by the top minds in the ambulatory 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:07,540 surgery center industry. 4 00:00:07,919 --> 00:00:10,960 Welcome to the Becker's 30th annual meeting, the 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,259 business and operations of ASCs from October 30th 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:15,705 to November second, 7 00:00:16,324 --> 00:00:19,285 2024. Picture the excitement as you collect business 8 00:00:19,285 --> 00:00:22,184 cards from over a 1000 executive level attendees 9 00:00:22,404 --> 00:00:23,945 forging priceless connections. 10 00:00:24,404 --> 00:00:25,864 Feel the buzz of conversations 11 00:00:26,164 --> 00:00:28,904 as you participate in more than 60 sessions 12 00:00:29,045 --> 00:00:29,969 led by over 13 00:00:30,849 --> 00:00:33,030 225 elite ASC speakers. 14 00:00:33,649 --> 00:00:37,090 Envision yourself gaining actionable insights on topics like 15 00:00:37,090 --> 00:00:38,390 private equity strategies, 16 00:00:38,929 --> 00:00:43,030 ASC business growth, and innovations in spine, orthopedics, 17 00:00:43,635 --> 00:00:45,734 GI, ophthalmology, and cardiology. 18 00:00:46,354 --> 00:00:49,954 Now imagine yourself listening to inspiring keynotes from 19 00:00:49,954 --> 00:00:53,094 Hall of Fame boxing world champion, Lila Ali, 20 00:00:53,155 --> 00:00:56,879 and professional basketball player, Caitlin Clark. Their stories 21 00:00:56,879 --> 00:00:59,199 will motivate you to take your business to 22 00:00:59,199 --> 00:01:01,600 new heights. You'll leave with a wealth of 23 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:03,920 knowledge and a network of connections to help 24 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,719 lead your ASC into the next year. Don't 25 00:01:06,719 --> 00:01:09,619 miss out. Get registered today. Visit beckershospitalreviewdot 26 00:01:10,834 --> 00:01:12,754 com and click on the events page to 27 00:01:12,754 --> 00:01:15,094 find the conference website. That's the beckershospitalreview.com 28 00:01:17,075 --> 00:01:19,094 events page. See you in Chicago. 29 00:01:20,354 --> 00:01:22,935 This is Alan Condon with the Becker's podcast, 30 00:01:22,994 --> 00:01:24,870 and I am thrilled to be on today 31 00:01:24,930 --> 00:01:26,549 by doctor Mark Kozlowski, 32 00:01:27,010 --> 00:01:30,310 who's the CEO of CarePoint Health, a physician 33 00:01:30,370 --> 00:01:32,790 owned and physician led practice headquartered 34 00:01:33,090 --> 00:01:33,909 in Colorado. 35 00:01:34,689 --> 00:01:36,210 Mark, a pleasure to have you on the 36 00:01:36,210 --> 00:01:38,130 podcast with us for your debut appearance of 37 00:01:38,130 --> 00:01:39,189 the Becker's podcast. 38 00:01:39,855 --> 00:01:40,894 Would like to hand it over to you 39 00:01:40,894 --> 00:01:42,334 1st and foremost to hear a little bit 40 00:01:42,334 --> 00:01:44,734 more about your role, your background, and what 41 00:01:44,734 --> 00:01:46,254 you're focusing on at CarePoint Health at the 42 00:01:46,254 --> 00:01:46,754 moment. 43 00:01:47,775 --> 00:01:49,935 Yeah. First, I really wanna thank you for 44 00:01:49,935 --> 00:01:52,409 having me today. It's our pleasure to come 45 00:01:52,409 --> 00:01:52,969 talk on, 46 00:01:53,930 --> 00:01:56,569 a talk with Becker's today. I I yeah. 47 00:01:56,569 --> 00:01:58,670 As you mentioned, CarePoint is a 100%, 48 00:01:59,049 --> 00:02:00,670 physician owned practice. 49 00:02:01,289 --> 00:02:02,829 We actually have 300, 50 00:02:03,689 --> 00:02:06,509 equal owners, which is a unique, unique structure. 51 00:02:07,525 --> 00:02:10,264 That entity came together in as a Colorado 52 00:02:10,645 --> 00:02:12,264 emergency medicine practice 53 00:02:12,805 --> 00:02:14,264 almost 30 years ago. 54 00:02:14,724 --> 00:02:17,125 And in my time with CarePoint, we've grown 55 00:02:17,125 --> 00:02:17,944 about tenfold, 56 00:02:18,884 --> 00:02:21,064 and eventually added hospitalist services, 57 00:02:21,669 --> 00:02:22,889 neurology, neurosurgery, 58 00:02:23,430 --> 00:02:25,769 and, rehab services as well. 59 00:02:26,870 --> 00:02:29,449 Over time, we we, grew into Kansas, 60 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:31,590 and we also joined with a like minded 61 00:02:31,590 --> 00:02:33,989 practice in Utah, and we now have over 62 00:02:33,989 --> 00:02:35,049 500 clinicians. 63 00:02:36,094 --> 00:02:39,235 Our CarePoint team also has a neurology 64 00:02:39,775 --> 00:02:40,275 group, 65 00:02:41,455 --> 00:02:42,835 which does a lot of teleneurology 66 00:02:43,135 --> 00:02:44,275 called Blue Sky. 67 00:02:44,735 --> 00:02:47,314 And Blue Sky provides on the ground services 68 00:02:47,534 --> 00:02:50,835 in 7 states and telemedicine services in another, 69 00:02:51,549 --> 00:02:52,289 20 states 70 00:02:52,590 --> 00:02:54,049 and serves over a 125,000 71 00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:56,610 patients, including about 75,000 72 00:02:57,069 --> 00:02:57,949 patients with, 73 00:02:58,349 --> 00:02:59,889 suspected acute stroke. 74 00:03:00,669 --> 00:03:02,289 Together, we've grown from 75 00:03:02,750 --> 00:03:05,329 a really small Denver practice to about 1,300,000 76 00:03:05,949 --> 00:03:06,449 patients, 77 00:03:07,194 --> 00:03:08,814 that we should we'll see this year. 78 00:03:09,594 --> 00:03:11,675 My role in CarePoint, I started in in 79 00:03:11,675 --> 00:03:12,175 2000, 80 00:03:13,194 --> 00:03:15,834 shortly after the group came together, and I've 81 00:03:15,834 --> 00:03:17,055 worked there ever since. 82 00:03:17,675 --> 00:03:20,395 I started working as med director at the 83 00:03:20,395 --> 00:03:20,895 HCA 84 00:03:21,275 --> 00:03:22,254 Swedish site. 85 00:03:22,610 --> 00:03:24,530 And over the last decade, I've had the 86 00:03:24,530 --> 00:03:27,169 pleasure to work at actually 14 or maybe 87 00:03:27,169 --> 00:03:30,050 15 of our, separate emergency departments as our 88 00:03:30,050 --> 00:03:31,030 practice grew. 89 00:03:31,729 --> 00:03:33,889 After a couple decades on the board, I 90 00:03:33,889 --> 00:03:35,189 took over as CEO, 91 00:03:35,969 --> 00:03:38,614 last fall and really have enjoyed the time 92 00:03:38,834 --> 00:03:40,134 at, at CarePoint. 93 00:03:42,194 --> 00:03:42,914 Got it. I think, 94 00:03:43,394 --> 00:03:45,954 really interesting here. Firstly, the background, the the 95 00:03:45,954 --> 00:03:48,194 makeup of CarePoint Health, and then also your 96 00:03:48,194 --> 00:03:49,974 experience, your role there. I think 97 00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:52,759 almost 20 years, as you said, at CarePoint 98 00:03:52,759 --> 00:03:55,560 Health serving in various leadership roles, as you 99 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,199 said, the medical director, then I believe chief 100 00:03:58,199 --> 00:04:00,680 operating officer for quite a while, and coming 101 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,560 up on about your 1 year anniversary as 102 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,019 CEO of the organization. 103 00:04:06,294 --> 00:04:08,455 I'm curious for can you give us a 104 00:04:08,455 --> 00:04:09,995 little bit of insight into 105 00:04:10,694 --> 00:04:12,775 making that step up to the CEO role 106 00:04:12,775 --> 00:04:14,694 for the first time? Is there any advice, 107 00:04:14,694 --> 00:04:17,754 if at all, for other COOs or CFOs, 108 00:04:17,894 --> 00:04:19,894 medical directors who might be looking to follow 109 00:04:19,894 --> 00:04:21,779 in their footsteps in terms of reaching the 110 00:04:21,779 --> 00:04:23,300 corner office or the CEO seat in their 111 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:24,040 own organization? 112 00:04:25,779 --> 00:04:28,180 Yeah. Great great great question. For me for 113 00:04:28,180 --> 00:04:30,759 me, it was a big change. I my 114 00:04:31,699 --> 00:04:34,759 last decade really was spent focusing on operations 115 00:04:35,139 --> 00:04:37,014 on the on the growth we had across 116 00:04:37,014 --> 00:04:37,514 markets, 117 00:04:38,134 --> 00:04:40,455 on ensuring that we're meeting the health system 118 00:04:40,455 --> 00:04:40,955 needs, 119 00:04:41,654 --> 00:04:43,574 and really looking at kind of day to 120 00:04:43,574 --> 00:04:47,014 day operations. And the transition to to a 121 00:04:47,014 --> 00:04:48,235 CEO has been 122 00:04:48,569 --> 00:04:50,250 been a been a great one, but it 123 00:04:50,250 --> 00:04:52,889 it is a really entirely different job as 124 00:04:52,889 --> 00:04:54,189 as I've really focused on 125 00:04:54,569 --> 00:04:55,870 strategy of the organization. 126 00:04:56,649 --> 00:04:58,829 Where do we wanna be in in 2030? 127 00:04:58,969 --> 00:05:00,649 Where do we wanna be in in in 128 00:05:00,649 --> 00:05:01,149 2035? 129 00:05:02,644 --> 00:05:04,964 Much different than the COO job, which was 130 00:05:04,964 --> 00:05:07,044 really solely where are we gonna be next 131 00:05:07,044 --> 00:05:07,544 week. 132 00:05:07,845 --> 00:05:08,345 So, 133 00:05:09,285 --> 00:05:10,664 putting on that long term, 134 00:05:11,604 --> 00:05:13,845 long term glasses and making sure you're looking 135 00:05:13,845 --> 00:05:15,365 down the road at where you want the 136 00:05:15,365 --> 00:05:17,939 organization to be 5 years down the road, 137 00:05:17,939 --> 00:05:19,539 10 years down the road is is a 138 00:05:19,539 --> 00:05:21,240 big is a big change, 139 00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:22,439 for the job, 140 00:05:23,060 --> 00:05:24,039 from the CEO, 141 00:05:24,660 --> 00:05:26,979 role. It's one that I've really enjoyed, but 142 00:05:26,979 --> 00:05:28,919 it is a was a big shift. 143 00:05:29,625 --> 00:05:31,625 Yeah. Yeah. I can only imagine, and especially 144 00:05:31,625 --> 00:05:33,064 in this day and age with all the 145 00:05:33,064 --> 00:05:36,125 complexities of health care and evolving trends. But 146 00:05:36,264 --> 00:05:38,664 I I I curious to hear, I see, 147 00:05:38,904 --> 00:05:41,064 with your long term view as you're looking 148 00:05:41,064 --> 00:05:42,604 to 2030, 2035, 149 00:05:43,224 --> 00:05:44,444 the growth of the organization, 150 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,439 what are 2 to 3 trends that you're 151 00:05:47,439 --> 00:05:49,360 really focusing on in health care today and 152 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:49,860 why? 153 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,399 Yeah. I I think the top, 154 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,160 the top three trends are AI, AI, and 155 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:56,660 AI. 156 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:58,180 So so, 157 00:05:59,404 --> 00:06:01,645 I started yeah. I I did residency in 158 00:06:01,645 --> 00:06:04,444 the nineties in in Detroit, and I started 159 00:06:04,444 --> 00:06:06,944 medicine with, paper charts, clipboards, 160 00:06:07,725 --> 00:06:09,564 x-ray view boxes, and, 161 00:06:10,365 --> 00:06:11,745 textbooks for reference. 162 00:06:12,470 --> 00:06:14,790 I've seen a lot of changes in the 163 00:06:14,790 --> 00:06:17,910 almost, 30 years since I, since I started 164 00:06:17,910 --> 00:06:18,410 residency. 165 00:06:19,029 --> 00:06:19,930 And while 166 00:06:20,389 --> 00:06:22,709 things like the Internet and the iPhone did 167 00:06:22,709 --> 00:06:23,529 change medicine 168 00:06:24,149 --> 00:06:25,050 for the better, 169 00:06:25,574 --> 00:06:28,535 The current EHR is still up docs tied 170 00:06:28,535 --> 00:06:29,354 to a desktop. 171 00:06:30,694 --> 00:06:32,615 No change that I've seen in my, you 172 00:06:32,615 --> 00:06:36,714 know, 25 years really compares to the revolution 173 00:06:36,854 --> 00:06:39,790 that we're seeing in in AI and specifically 174 00:06:39,850 --> 00:06:41,470 with with ambient listening. 175 00:06:42,650 --> 00:06:44,490 When you go to one of our 40 176 00:06:44,490 --> 00:06:47,770 plus ERs, you'll see the docs, and majority 177 00:06:47,770 --> 00:06:50,170 of time, you'll see them at, at a 178 00:06:50,170 --> 00:06:50,670 desktop, 179 00:06:51,129 --> 00:06:53,235 where they do their charting. And if you 180 00:06:53,235 --> 00:06:54,214 look nationally, 181 00:06:55,074 --> 00:06:57,314 historically, about only a third of a doc's 182 00:06:57,314 --> 00:06:59,795 time has been on direct patient care, and 183 00:06:59,795 --> 00:07:00,615 about 50% 184 00:07:00,995 --> 00:07:04,274 has spent spent charting, particularly in in the 185 00:07:04,435 --> 00:07:06,855 many of the hospital based, based specialties. 186 00:07:08,250 --> 00:07:10,750 The EHR ties those docs to the desktop. 187 00:07:11,370 --> 00:07:13,209 And and, fortunately, I I really see that, 188 00:07:13,529 --> 00:07:15,550 changing, particularly as we look forward. 189 00:07:16,169 --> 00:07:18,490 We've we've began looking at, 190 00:07:18,970 --> 00:07:20,889 the future of of health care and the 191 00:07:20,889 --> 00:07:22,269 future of care delivery 192 00:07:22,634 --> 00:07:23,134 and, 193 00:07:24,314 --> 00:07:27,115 explored a couple different platforms, and we partnered 194 00:07:27,115 --> 00:07:30,335 with some some data science graduates from Yale 195 00:07:31,035 --> 00:07:31,355 and, 196 00:07:31,915 --> 00:07:34,895 who they developed, CLEO, which is an ER, 197 00:07:34,955 --> 00:07:36,415 ambient listening platform. 198 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,980 We're piloting ambient listening across markets. 199 00:07:40,439 --> 00:07:42,860 I really think this will transform medicine 200 00:07:43,399 --> 00:07:45,399 in in a way that really nothing else 201 00:07:45,399 --> 00:07:46,939 has in in my career. 202 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,439 The conversation with the patient is now becoming 203 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:51,100 the record 204 00:07:51,664 --> 00:07:53,044 and the ability of 205 00:07:53,425 --> 00:07:55,904 AI not only to document, but also to 206 00:07:55,904 --> 00:07:56,964 ensure quality 207 00:07:57,504 --> 00:07:58,164 and minimize 208 00:07:58,464 --> 00:07:59,845 risk is unparalleled. 209 00:08:01,264 --> 00:08:02,084 Most importantly, 210 00:08:02,464 --> 00:08:04,564 from both a patient and physician perspective, 211 00:08:05,425 --> 00:08:06,164 the waste 212 00:08:06,639 --> 00:08:08,819 of charting is gradually going away. 213 00:08:09,279 --> 00:08:11,279 No one went to med school to spend 214 00:08:11,279 --> 00:08:12,500 half their time charting. 215 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:15,600 Time at the bedside, I believe, is going 216 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,400 to, already it's already increasing, and I think 217 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,420 that's gonna continue to to do so. 218 00:08:20,894 --> 00:08:23,875 I think ambient listening will improve sepsis care. 219 00:08:24,095 --> 00:08:26,254 I think it will help identify high risk 220 00:08:26,254 --> 00:08:28,975 chief complaints, for example, the high risk back 221 00:08:28,975 --> 00:08:29,794 pain patients 222 00:08:30,254 --> 00:08:32,674 and ultimately provide what I would call cognitive 223 00:08:32,815 --> 00:08:34,195 offloads for the doc. 224 00:08:34,670 --> 00:08:37,149 Docs are gonna be happier and the patients 225 00:08:37,149 --> 00:08:39,389 are gonna be happier because instead of focusing 226 00:08:39,389 --> 00:08:41,950 on the chart or that clipboard I used 227 00:08:41,950 --> 00:08:43,790 to carry around or the piece of paper 228 00:08:43,790 --> 00:08:45,410 folded up with notes on it, 229 00:08:45,870 --> 00:08:47,550 docs are gonna be able to focus on 230 00:08:47,550 --> 00:08:48,210 the patients, 231 00:08:49,095 --> 00:08:50,794 and this is gonna be a huge win. 232 00:08:52,695 --> 00:08:55,095 Yeah. I think it's everything. I think we 233 00:08:55,095 --> 00:08:56,774 asked a lot of executives, a lot of 234 00:08:56,774 --> 00:08:59,334 physician providers this question. I think no surprise 235 00:08:59,334 --> 00:09:02,054 to you that AI definitely, at least, first 236 00:09:02,054 --> 00:09:03,815 or second then in terms of the biggest 237 00:09:03,815 --> 00:09:05,840 trend, the most exciting trend that everybody is 238 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:07,759 keeping an eye on. And really interesting to 239 00:09:07,759 --> 00:09:10,080 hear those callouts in terms of the potential 240 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,759 impact on clinical care, facilitating those position provider 241 00:09:13,759 --> 00:09:16,480 workflows, the impact on the HR. I mean, 242 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,440 really so many opportunities to really, really improve 243 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,454 organizations across the board there. 244 00:09:22,154 --> 00:09:24,074 So to jump in into my next question, 245 00:09:24,074 --> 00:09:26,074 no doubt that's one area of excitement as 246 00:09:26,074 --> 00:09:27,454 well. But is there anything, 247 00:09:28,235 --> 00:09:30,714 either on the clinical, the technical side, or 248 00:09:30,714 --> 00:09:32,154 even on the health care space in general, 249 00:09:32,154 --> 00:09:34,254 anything else that you're particularly excited about? 250 00:09:35,889 --> 00:09:36,389 Yeah. 251 00:09:37,730 --> 00:09:39,409 We are we are focused on, 252 00:09:40,769 --> 00:09:43,029 on RCM, and we think having 253 00:09:43,889 --> 00:09:44,470 a top, 254 00:09:44,850 --> 00:09:48,129 revenue cycle management is gonna be imperative to 255 00:09:48,129 --> 00:09:49,669 be, to be successful 256 00:09:50,504 --> 00:09:52,345 with the I don't know if I'm excited, 257 00:09:52,345 --> 00:09:53,485 but with the proposed 258 00:09:53,785 --> 00:09:57,304 Medicare reimbursement falling in 2024 or proposed cuts 259 00:09:57,304 --> 00:09:58,045 for 2025 260 00:09:58,985 --> 00:10:01,545 and many of our states facing a a 261 00:10:01,545 --> 00:10:03,965 post, COVID Medicaid disenrollment, 262 00:10:05,820 --> 00:10:07,500 the importance of being on top of your 263 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:09,360 game from a from an RCM 264 00:10:10,299 --> 00:10:12,799 standpoint is is is never been more important. 265 00:10:13,899 --> 00:10:16,620 Whether you're doing internal billing or outsourcing your 266 00:10:16,620 --> 00:10:17,120 billing, 267 00:10:17,454 --> 00:10:19,695 you need your own RCM team to be, 268 00:10:20,014 --> 00:10:21,714 to to be to be competitive. 269 00:10:22,414 --> 00:10:24,735 And and we've, you know, invested in this, 270 00:10:24,735 --> 00:10:26,334 and we'll continue to invest in it. I 271 00:10:26,334 --> 00:10:27,934 I think it is is gonna be a 272 00:10:27,934 --> 00:10:29,634 top trend across all practices. 273 00:10:30,429 --> 00:10:32,269 It's just gonna be a necessity as the 274 00:10:32,269 --> 00:10:34,529 world becomes more competitive, as payers 275 00:10:34,990 --> 00:10:35,870 become more, 276 00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:38,129 aggressive and and and challenging, 277 00:10:38,590 --> 00:10:39,230 and as, 278 00:10:39,950 --> 00:10:40,450 reimbursement 279 00:10:40,910 --> 00:10:41,950 is, is, 280 00:10:42,429 --> 00:10:42,929 potentially 281 00:10:43,230 --> 00:10:43,730 falling. 282 00:10:45,054 --> 00:10:46,975 Yeah. It's it's so interesting that you say 283 00:10:46,975 --> 00:10:50,095 that just because it's not just practices or 284 00:10:50,095 --> 00:10:52,914 hospitals. It's entire health systems now which are 285 00:10:53,134 --> 00:10:54,274 really outsourcing 286 00:10:54,575 --> 00:10:57,534 or transitioning their entire revenue cycle departments out 287 00:10:57,534 --> 00:10:57,960 to, 288 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,679 external partners to really help facilitate in some 289 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,440 of these payer challenges that we're seeing in 290 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,379 terms of low payments, excessively excessive prior authorization 291 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,160 denials, and whatnot. I'm curious to hear just 292 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:10,600 a little bit of more about the setup 293 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,325 of your RCM team. Is it internal, external, 294 00:11:13,325 --> 00:11:14,784 and how are you looking to grow us? 295 00:11:15,565 --> 00:11:18,065 Yeah. We we always had an external 296 00:11:19,964 --> 00:11:22,764 billing entity that we've we've partnered with in 297 00:11:22,764 --> 00:11:25,404 the past, and what we found is, they 298 00:11:25,404 --> 00:11:28,169 did a great job. We're moving to automate 299 00:11:28,169 --> 00:11:30,190 things. But really to ensure 300 00:11:30,889 --> 00:11:32,809 we're getting the most value out of the 301 00:11:32,809 --> 00:11:36,029 process, we've invested in hiring our own internal 302 00:11:36,090 --> 00:11:39,450 RCM team in addition to our external external 303 00:11:39,450 --> 00:11:41,644 vendor. And this has really been an important 304 00:11:41,644 --> 00:11:44,205 part of our our success. So we've we've 305 00:11:44,205 --> 00:11:45,345 started with 1 306 00:11:45,804 --> 00:11:48,304 individual, and we're up to 5 individuals 307 00:11:48,845 --> 00:11:50,945 working on RCM at CarePoint. 308 00:11:51,485 --> 00:11:54,225 And they help manage the relationship with our, 309 00:11:54,799 --> 00:11:55,299 outsource, 310 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:56,179 partner 311 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,379 and ensure, really, we're getting we're getting value. 312 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:01,360 And I see that as being key for 313 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:02,179 every practice. 314 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:05,839 Yeah. Really, really interesting to hear about the 315 00:12:05,839 --> 00:12:08,959 internal and external components of your revenue cycle 316 00:12:08,959 --> 00:12:09,459 operations. 317 00:12:11,235 --> 00:12:13,235 I'd love to go looking ahead, you you 318 00:12:13,235 --> 00:12:15,634 obviously talked earlier as you're in your CEO 319 00:12:15,634 --> 00:12:18,214 role looking to go ahead to 2030, 2035. 320 00:12:19,315 --> 00:12:20,674 But I'd love to kinda get, like, a 321 00:12:20,674 --> 00:12:22,115 little bit of a pulse check on the 322 00:12:22,115 --> 00:12:24,750 next 12 months at CarePoint Health. I know, 323 00:12:24,830 --> 00:12:27,870 like you said, multiple service lines high acuity 324 00:12:27,870 --> 00:12:29,970 service lines that you focus on including emergency 325 00:12:30,110 --> 00:12:32,450 medicine, spine, neurosurgery, neurology. 326 00:12:32,990 --> 00:12:34,610 But we'd love to hear, is there any, 327 00:12:35,070 --> 00:12:37,950 CarePoint considering at all into expanding into other 328 00:12:37,950 --> 00:12:41,235 high acuity service lines? Maybe just bolstering and 329 00:12:41,235 --> 00:12:43,394 strengthening in those service lines which you do 330 00:12:43,394 --> 00:12:45,075 perform so well in, or where are you 331 00:12:45,075 --> 00:12:46,774 looking to grow over the next 12 months? 332 00:12:47,955 --> 00:12:50,915 Yeah. We we completed strategic planning actually just, 333 00:12:51,235 --> 00:12:53,174 just last week. We had our board together. 334 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,620 And as I mentioned, we'll see about 1,200,300,000 335 00:12:57,879 --> 00:12:59,019 patients this year. 336 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,679 We have we're really at a transition point. 337 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:03,820 We've grown from 338 00:13:04,279 --> 00:13:06,860 a medium sized regional practice with 339 00:13:07,384 --> 00:13:08,284 800 employees 340 00:13:08,745 --> 00:13:10,845 and 300 equal equal owners. 341 00:13:11,304 --> 00:13:13,544 But, really, we just hired, it's a little 342 00:13:13,544 --> 00:13:15,225 hard to believe, we just hired our 1st 343 00:13:15,225 --> 00:13:16,365 full time salesperson, 344 00:13:17,465 --> 00:13:19,705 just in the last year. So we're 345 00:13:20,379 --> 00:13:22,699 we've, you know, traditionally just relied on health 346 00:13:22,699 --> 00:13:25,439 systems coming to us based on our relationships 347 00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:26,399 and reputation, 348 00:13:27,579 --> 00:13:28,399 for growth. 349 00:13:29,179 --> 00:13:31,259 But, we see the future, and I think 350 00:13:31,259 --> 00:13:32,459 the future is gonna require, 351 00:13:33,914 --> 00:13:36,315 continued growth and there'll be, you know, hopefully, 352 00:13:36,315 --> 00:13:39,115 some economies of scale of of increasing size 353 00:13:39,115 --> 00:13:40,475 in our in our in our in our 354 00:13:40,475 --> 00:13:40,975 footprint 355 00:13:41,434 --> 00:13:44,714 and and leveraging our, our success. So we're 356 00:13:44,714 --> 00:13:46,575 looking forward to continue to grow. 357 00:13:47,639 --> 00:13:49,799 We are you know, believe that this is, 358 00:13:50,279 --> 00:13:51,100 we're unique. 359 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,059 Our physician ownership, we have no debt, 360 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,419 and our model has proven effective at retaining 361 00:13:57,799 --> 00:13:59,960 a a top talent, and our board is 362 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:01,899 committed to committed to grow. 363 00:14:02,304 --> 00:14:05,365 In addition, we're we're beginning to explore innovative 364 00:14:05,745 --> 00:14:08,725 growth. I think our experience looking at 365 00:14:09,105 --> 00:14:10,644 AI has has 366 00:14:11,105 --> 00:14:13,585 really opened the door, and and we've we've 367 00:14:13,585 --> 00:14:14,865 found that there's it's, 368 00:14:15,919 --> 00:14:18,559 the company and the owners are willing and 369 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:21,199 want to invest in early stage health care 370 00:14:21,199 --> 00:14:24,259 businesses that could potentially improve their practice 371 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,959 and may bring, you know, future value to 372 00:14:26,959 --> 00:14:27,620 our patients 373 00:14:28,079 --> 00:14:29,679 and our and our team. So, 374 00:14:30,634 --> 00:14:32,554 we're looking forward to continued growth in the 375 00:14:32,554 --> 00:14:33,774 next 12 months. 376 00:14:35,034 --> 00:14:37,434 Perfect. So we're certainly excited to have you 377 00:14:37,434 --> 00:14:39,434 on the podcast today. Pick your brains a 378 00:14:39,434 --> 00:14:40,794 little bit, Mark, and hear a little bit 379 00:14:40,794 --> 00:14:42,634 more about some of the exciting things that 380 00:14:42,634 --> 00:14:44,830 are going on at CarePoint Health. A real 381 00:14:44,830 --> 00:14:46,269 pleasure to to speak to you today, and 382 00:14:46,269 --> 00:14:47,789 I look forward to connecting with you again 383 00:14:47,789 --> 00:14:48,529 down the line. 384 00:14:49,230 --> 00:14:51,009 Yeah. Thank you so much for your time.