1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,299 Today's clinical providers and health care systems 2 00:00:05,599 --> 00:00:08,400 need a strategic partner that is focused on 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:10,419 the evolution of health care delivery. 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,839 At Surgery Partners, we are redefining the health 5 00:00:13,839 --> 00:00:14,414 care industry 6 00:00:14,894 --> 00:00:18,195 as a nation's leading independent operator of surgical 7 00:00:18,254 --> 00:00:20,434 facilities and ancillary services. 8 00:00:20,894 --> 00:00:23,875 With an extensive presence spanning over 180 9 00:00:24,574 --> 00:00:25,714 locations nationwide, 10 00:00:26,335 --> 00:00:28,515 our commitment extends beyond healthcare. 11 00:00:29,079 --> 00:00:31,339 It's about fostering successful partnerships 12 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:33,799 that enhance the quality of care in the 13 00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:35,100 communities we serve. 14 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,280 Surgery Partners is more than an operator or 15 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,960 service provider. We are your strategic ally committed 16 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:43,820 to transforming healthcare delivery. 17 00:00:44,565 --> 00:00:46,024 Learn more at surgerypartners.com. 18 00:00:50,325 --> 00:00:52,664 This is Alan Condon back with the Becker's 19 00:00:52,725 --> 00:00:55,604 ASC podcast, and I'm delighted to be joined 20 00:00:55,604 --> 00:00:58,299 today by Caleb Miller who's a senior vice 21 00:00:58,299 --> 00:01:02,219 president of Carle Specialty and Ambulatory Care. Caleb, 22 00:01:02,219 --> 00:01:03,740 we're delighted to have you make your debut 23 00:01:03,740 --> 00:01:05,200 appearance in the Beckers Podcast. 24 00:01:05,739 --> 00:01:07,579 For those who might not be acquainted with 25 00:01:07,579 --> 00:01:09,659 you or your organization, do you mind just 26 00:01:09,659 --> 00:01:11,099 giving a quick little bit of an insight 27 00:01:11,099 --> 00:01:12,640 into your role and your background? 28 00:01:13,954 --> 00:01:16,834 Yeah. Absolutely. So I work for Carle Health, 29 00:01:16,994 --> 00:01:19,954 which is a integrated delivery system, in, the 30 00:01:19,954 --> 00:01:20,854 state of Illinois. 31 00:01:21,474 --> 00:01:23,954 I've been with the organization for 19 years, 32 00:01:24,275 --> 00:01:25,954 as you know, to serve as a senior 33 00:01:25,954 --> 00:01:28,159 vice president for specialty inventory care. 34 00:01:28,619 --> 00:01:29,280 I have 35 00:01:29,819 --> 00:01:32,319 responsibilities to oversee our medical group, 36 00:01:32,700 --> 00:01:34,459 both on the specialty side and on the 37 00:01:34,459 --> 00:01:35,599 primary care side. 38 00:01:36,140 --> 00:01:38,299 I've worked closely with our physicians and our 39 00:01:38,299 --> 00:01:40,000 other administrative leaders to 40 00:01:40,435 --> 00:01:42,215 deliver our customers, our patients, 41 00:01:42,674 --> 00:01:43,174 a 42 00:01:43,555 --> 00:01:45,575 high quality care that they need and deserve. 43 00:01:46,915 --> 00:01:48,915 Perfect. Thank you so much for the brief 44 00:01:48,915 --> 00:01:50,454 little intro. So 45 00:01:50,755 --> 00:01:53,094 Caleb, I'd love to spend some time, obviously, 46 00:01:53,359 --> 00:01:54,979 no secret to you, any of our listeners, 47 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,599 the many trends, many challenges health care is 48 00:01:57,599 --> 00:01:58,900 facing. We also see 49 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:00,340 a lot more procedures, 50 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:01,140 complex 51 00:02:01,519 --> 00:02:04,500 procedures, and multiple specialties moving away from inpatient 52 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,500 settings towards outpatient settings. 53 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,564 What are the 2 or 3 key trends 54 00:02:09,564 --> 00:02:12,525 that you're really following, paying close attention to 55 00:02:12,525 --> 00:02:14,784 in the ASC space today and why? 56 00:02:15,724 --> 00:02:17,245 I think in the ASC space, I think 57 00:02:17,245 --> 00:02:20,560 there's, 2 things that are, pretty prominent for, 58 00:02:20,799 --> 00:02:23,039 all organizations. I think the first thing as 59 00:02:23,039 --> 00:02:24,979 you noted, the the shift from, 60 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,259 cases from the hospital setting to the outpatient 61 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:29,280 ASC setting, 62 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:31,219 we saw a tremendous, 63 00:02:32,239 --> 00:02:33,314 up tick in that 64 00:02:34,094 --> 00:02:35,314 from COVID driving 65 00:02:35,775 --> 00:02:36,514 those trends. 66 00:02:37,215 --> 00:02:39,375 I think what everyone's kind of interested in 67 00:02:39,375 --> 00:02:40,894 is or will we still see that same 68 00:02:40,894 --> 00:02:43,314 rapid growth? Will we still see that 69 00:02:44,094 --> 00:02:46,094 immediate change that we saw during that time? 70 00:02:46,094 --> 00:02:48,240 And I think we are and we have 71 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,120 been. And so we're really excited about that, 72 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,000 as an organization because we know that when 73 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,400 we get patients into those spaces, that's more 74 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:56,900 of 75 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,180 a controllable environment from their patient experience standpoint, 76 00:03:01,039 --> 00:03:02,180 from efficiency 77 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:03,060 standpoint 78 00:03:03,655 --> 00:03:05,495 And, that's probably one of the biggest trends 79 00:03:05,495 --> 00:03:07,495 that we're seeing also within our organization that 80 00:03:07,495 --> 00:03:09,355 kinda aligns with what we're seeing nationally. 81 00:03:10,055 --> 00:03:11,495 And then I think, you know, that you 82 00:03:11,495 --> 00:03:12,235 need enabling, 83 00:03:13,254 --> 00:03:15,514 resources, you know, to help kinda support, 84 00:03:15,895 --> 00:03:18,009 that trend and, you know, that cut that 85 00:03:18,009 --> 00:03:19,629 brings in the technology space. 86 00:03:20,009 --> 00:03:21,849 So how will it help us, you know, 87 00:03:21,849 --> 00:03:23,870 kinda bend the cost curve of health care? 88 00:03:24,009 --> 00:03:25,629 How will it help us drive efficiencies? 89 00:03:26,169 --> 00:03:27,849 How will it help us improve the patient 90 00:03:27,849 --> 00:03:30,090 experience with their care? And how do we 91 00:03:30,090 --> 00:03:32,794 leverage all that, in the most cost effective 92 00:03:33,175 --> 00:03:36,055 and efficient manner. And, we've, you know, those 93 00:03:36,055 --> 00:03:38,555 are 2 areas that we're extremely focused on, 94 00:03:38,694 --> 00:03:40,694 not only with our AC environment, but a 95 00:03:40,694 --> 00:03:42,854 lot of, activity that we have within our 96 00:03:42,854 --> 00:03:43,754 medical group. 97 00:03:44,090 --> 00:03:46,569 Got it. Yeah. And so, obviously, technology comes 98 00:03:46,569 --> 00:03:48,729 into play quite a bit here. When to 99 00:03:48,729 --> 00:03:50,650 your point in terms of improving the patient 100 00:03:50,650 --> 00:03:53,769 experience, in terms of making streamlining your operations, 101 00:03:53,769 --> 00:03:55,229 making them a lot more efficient, 102 00:03:56,090 --> 00:03:57,150 are there any technologies 103 00:03:57,694 --> 00:03:59,694 either on the surgical side or on the 104 00:03:59,694 --> 00:04:02,094 operational side that you're looking to implement, I 105 00:04:02,094 --> 00:04:04,014 guess, to really help your operations in the 106 00:04:04,014 --> 00:04:04,835 coming year? 107 00:04:05,694 --> 00:04:07,775 Well, we are we are epic shops. So 108 00:04:07,775 --> 00:04:10,355 we've been trying to leverage every potential, 109 00:04:11,055 --> 00:04:13,294 resource that we have within our our epic 110 00:04:13,294 --> 00:04:13,442 platform. 111 00:04:14,469 --> 00:04:16,569 We've used a lot within the OR marketplace 112 00:04:16,790 --> 00:04:17,850 over the last year 113 00:04:18,709 --> 00:04:19,610 to drive our 114 00:04:20,550 --> 00:04:21,449 schedule utilization 115 00:04:21,750 --> 00:04:23,669 within the operating room. We wanna make sure 116 00:04:23,669 --> 00:04:24,810 operating rooms are 117 00:04:25,189 --> 00:04:25,605 full 118 00:04:26,085 --> 00:04:28,004 at all times if we possibly can. And 119 00:04:28,004 --> 00:04:30,345 so we've seen a tremendous uptick with that. 120 00:04:30,725 --> 00:04:33,145 We've also leveraged some of the patient, 121 00:04:33,525 --> 00:04:34,025 facing 122 00:04:34,564 --> 00:04:36,404 interfaces that we're able to do within the, 123 00:04:37,045 --> 00:04:39,365 the portal environment there. So how do we 124 00:04:39,365 --> 00:04:40,949 make sure they understand you know, 125 00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:42,587 post of their, post, their surgical visits? And 126 00:04:42,587 --> 00:04:43,730 we've really leveraged a lot of that. Try 127 00:04:43,730 --> 00:04:45,266 to also put some of that back on 128 00:04:45,266 --> 00:04:46,389 the patient, not 129 00:04:53,044 --> 00:04:55,764 from to, pass that onto them but also 130 00:04:55,764 --> 00:04:57,204 give them more control over that, 131 00:04:57,605 --> 00:05:00,805 patients that have control of their healthcare are, 132 00:05:01,285 --> 00:05:03,125 more engaged with their healthcare. And so we've 133 00:05:03,125 --> 00:05:04,529 been doing a lot of patient facing, interactions 134 00:05:04,529 --> 00:05:04,649 that, you know, through the our portal and, 135 00:05:04,665 --> 00:05:05,464 trying to continue to leverage that 136 00:05:07,060 --> 00:05:09,539 through the our portal and, trying to continue 137 00:05:09,539 --> 00:05:11,699 to leverage that and, you know, give, the 138 00:05:11,699 --> 00:05:13,720 patients more control of their health care. 139 00:05:14,579 --> 00:05:16,740 Gotcha. Gotcha. And then I wonder if you 140 00:05:16,740 --> 00:05:18,500 could spend the moment just giving us a 141 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:21,805 little bit of insight into maybe surgical technology 142 00:05:21,865 --> 00:05:24,425 that any kind of, whether it's on the 143 00:05:24,425 --> 00:05:25,485 robotic side, 144 00:05:25,944 --> 00:05:28,745 AI side, in your operating rooms, what do 145 00:05:28,745 --> 00:05:30,824 you really see as, the technologies on the 146 00:05:30,824 --> 00:05:33,384 forefront of surgical care over the coming years, 147 00:05:33,384 --> 00:05:35,699 especially when it comes to the outpatient setting? 148 00:05:36,740 --> 00:05:37,540 Yeah, I think, 149 00:05:38,660 --> 00:05:41,139 what we always look at is, how is 150 00:05:41,139 --> 00:05:42,120 this going to benefit, 151 00:05:42,740 --> 00:05:44,660 the patient, that's kind of where we start 152 00:05:44,660 --> 00:05:45,400 at baseline 153 00:05:45,779 --> 00:05:46,279 and, 154 00:05:46,900 --> 00:05:48,040 we've tried to leverage, 155 00:05:48,420 --> 00:05:51,115 be innovative the same time, smart as it 156 00:05:51,115 --> 00:05:52,334 relates to with our advancements. 157 00:05:53,514 --> 00:05:55,915 We were one of the first organizations, you 158 00:05:55,915 --> 00:05:58,475 know, within the nation to bring the DaVinci 159 00:05:58,475 --> 00:06:01,514 robotic system into our our ASCs. We did 160 00:06:01,514 --> 00:06:03,535 that because we needed to expand access 161 00:06:04,029 --> 00:06:05,949 and be able to bring those cases in 162 00:06:06,029 --> 00:06:07,889 into the lowest cost care setting, 163 00:06:08,509 --> 00:06:11,170 in order to, you know, support that technology. 164 00:06:11,709 --> 00:06:12,529 We've also 165 00:06:13,069 --> 00:06:14,930 done a lot of innovation around 166 00:06:15,470 --> 00:06:15,970 utilizing 167 00:06:17,214 --> 00:06:19,854 technology within the operating room to help support 168 00:06:19,854 --> 00:06:20,914 our teaching initiatives 169 00:06:21,454 --> 00:06:22,995 as well as the research initiatives. 170 00:06:23,375 --> 00:06:26,115 We do have a, emerging technology 171 00:06:26,574 --> 00:06:28,814 committee within our organization that looks at these 172 00:06:28,814 --> 00:06:31,240 different pieces of technology and say, again, how 173 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,180 is it gonna benefit the patient? And, 174 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:35,560 we brought that in the space, either to 175 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,560 trial it, and to see, you know, does 176 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,479 this really change things? And if it does, 177 00:06:39,479 --> 00:06:41,000 then we, try to bring that in the 178 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,019 organization as quick as we possibly can. 179 00:06:43,444 --> 00:06:45,044 And that's as I kind of noted, that's 180 00:06:45,044 --> 00:06:46,245 kind of helped drive our, 181 00:06:46,724 --> 00:06:49,285 research initiatives as well as our educational initiatives. 182 00:06:49,285 --> 00:06:50,964 And then how do we, you know, kind 183 00:06:50,964 --> 00:06:52,805 of be at the forefront of that and, 184 00:06:53,365 --> 00:06:55,285 you know, get out there and publish and 185 00:06:55,285 --> 00:06:57,689 be seen as a as a organization that 186 00:06:57,689 --> 00:07:00,589 is driving innovation and partnering with vendors and, 187 00:07:00,889 --> 00:07:02,889 trying to bring, you know, advancements in the 188 00:07:02,889 --> 00:07:05,370 technology and share with them on, you know, 189 00:07:05,370 --> 00:07:07,449 what can be improved for the next version 190 00:07:07,449 --> 00:07:09,870 of their technology. That's something that's, you know, 191 00:07:10,475 --> 00:07:12,254 common place with an operating room. 192 00:07:12,955 --> 00:07:15,514 Gotcha. Yeah. So yeah. Fascinating. You're obviously an 193 00:07:15,514 --> 00:07:17,355 epic shop. A lot of benefits that come 194 00:07:17,355 --> 00:07:19,035 with that, especially if it boils down to 195 00:07:19,035 --> 00:07:21,134 the the patient experience, like you said. 196 00:07:21,754 --> 00:07:24,875 Other tools within patient scheduling, patient facing portal 197 00:07:24,875 --> 00:07:25,319 there. 198 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,379 On the surgical side, very interesting to hear 199 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,160 that you got your da Vinci robot as 200 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:32,759 well recently. I'm curious, 201 00:07:33,319 --> 00:07:35,259 when you think about the future of healthcare, 202 00:07:35,319 --> 00:07:37,560 particularly within your organization, is there something that 203 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:39,259 you're particularly excited about? 204 00:07:40,824 --> 00:07:43,704 I think with everything we talked about with 205 00:07:43,704 --> 00:07:44,444 the technology, 206 00:07:45,305 --> 00:07:46,925 the advancements that we've had, 207 00:07:47,384 --> 00:07:50,024 just that we've seen just explode over the 208 00:07:50,024 --> 00:07:52,104 last couple of years. I think we're in 209 00:07:52,104 --> 00:07:54,060 a better position now than we ever have 210 00:07:54,459 --> 00:07:56,300 in order to give our patients a better 211 00:07:56,300 --> 00:07:56,800 experience, 212 00:07:57,180 --> 00:07:58,319 and we've seen that. 213 00:07:59,339 --> 00:08:01,019 Whether it be, you know, a lot of 214 00:08:01,019 --> 00:08:02,459 these things that we've had to do, you 215 00:08:02,459 --> 00:08:04,639 know, over the years, it's taken, 216 00:08:05,100 --> 00:08:07,439 resources, you know, as it relates to people. 217 00:08:07,899 --> 00:08:08,879 It also took, 218 00:08:09,365 --> 00:08:10,805 you know, it took so long to get 219 00:08:10,805 --> 00:08:12,644 something in a place or whatever. But with 220 00:08:12,644 --> 00:08:16,024 advancements of AI and, other, you know, technology 221 00:08:16,404 --> 00:08:18,245 advancements, we can do all these things in 222 00:08:18,245 --> 00:08:20,485 a much quicker fashion. So I think, you 223 00:08:20,485 --> 00:08:22,449 know, with that, we can leverage it. We 224 00:08:22,449 --> 00:08:24,689 can also, you know, use those tools in 225 00:08:24,689 --> 00:08:26,930 order to get feedback from our patients, in 226 00:08:26,930 --> 00:08:29,329 a more expedited manner and make adjustments along 227 00:08:29,329 --> 00:08:31,490 the way. And so I think, you know, 228 00:08:31,490 --> 00:08:34,450 we have a tremendous opportunity to drive change, 229 00:08:34,690 --> 00:08:36,289 and that's really what health care has needed 230 00:08:36,289 --> 00:08:37,429 for a long time. 231 00:08:37,745 --> 00:08:39,345 And, you know, we're excited to be at 232 00:08:39,345 --> 00:08:41,024 the forefront of that. I think we are 233 00:08:41,024 --> 00:08:42,804 at the forefront of that as an organization, 234 00:08:43,424 --> 00:08:45,504 and that continues to be our focus. If 235 00:08:45,504 --> 00:08:46,945 it benefits our patients, we, 236 00:08:47,584 --> 00:08:48,704 you know, we'll have it at the top 237 00:08:48,704 --> 00:08:49,445 of our list. 238 00:08:50,409 --> 00:08:52,490 Yes. And it's fascinating to get that insight 239 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:54,730 into you, your role and CIRL Health as 240 00:08:54,730 --> 00:08:55,389 an organization. 241 00:08:55,929 --> 00:08:58,169 But we're obviously coming to the end of 242 00:08:58,169 --> 00:08:58,669 2024 243 00:08:59,129 --> 00:09:00,909 here. When you look ahead, 244 00:09:01,289 --> 00:09:01,789 2025, 245 00:09:02,090 --> 00:09:04,009 the next 12 months or so, how are 246 00:09:04,009 --> 00:09:05,230 you thinking about growth? 247 00:09:06,304 --> 00:09:06,804 Yeah. 248 00:09:07,184 --> 00:09:08,544 We're thinking about growth in a lot of 249 00:09:08,544 --> 00:09:10,004 ways as kind of mentioned 250 00:09:10,625 --> 00:09:12,804 at the beginning of our discussion here is 251 00:09:12,865 --> 00:09:14,884 what more can we shift to the outpatient 252 00:09:14,945 --> 00:09:15,445 setting? 253 00:09:15,825 --> 00:09:16,804 How can we 254 00:09:19,504 --> 00:09:21,959 leverage the care environment as much as we 255 00:09:21,959 --> 00:09:23,799 possibly can in order to give that patients 256 00:09:23,799 --> 00:09:24,699 the best experience. 257 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:26,699 That will also allow us to, 258 00:09:27,639 --> 00:09:30,299 you know, keep cases that we need to, 259 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:32,519 you know, in the ASC setting that should 260 00:09:32,519 --> 00:09:34,459 be there, but also expand those cases, 261 00:09:35,079 --> 00:09:36,695 as well as get the cases in the 262 00:09:36,695 --> 00:09:39,415 right setting to, you know, allow our, you 263 00:09:39,415 --> 00:09:40,855 know, our services that we have on the 264 00:09:40,855 --> 00:09:43,415 hospital side run more efficient too because we 265 00:09:43,415 --> 00:09:44,935 are, you know, we're, you know, putting the 266 00:09:44,935 --> 00:09:46,935 systems of care in the right place. And 267 00:09:46,935 --> 00:09:48,600 so we're extremely excited about 268 00:09:49,159 --> 00:09:51,959 that. I think the other thing that, you 269 00:09:51,959 --> 00:09:52,679 know, we're, 270 00:09:53,079 --> 00:09:55,000 you know, we're really focused on is as 271 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,240 we do that, how do we always plan 272 00:09:57,240 --> 00:09:59,559 5 years ahead? Right now, we're looking a 273 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:01,959 lot at our our physical footprint. You know, 274 00:10:01,959 --> 00:10:03,715 do we have enough operating rooms over the 275 00:10:03,715 --> 00:10:05,075 next 5 years, and why do we need 276 00:10:05,075 --> 00:10:07,075 to be, you know, to be planful around 277 00:10:07,075 --> 00:10:09,795 that? How can we collate, you know, certain 278 00:10:09,795 --> 00:10:10,855 specialties within, 279 00:10:11,394 --> 00:10:11,975 you know, 280 00:10:12,355 --> 00:10:14,274 our our different entities that we have as 281 00:10:14,274 --> 00:10:16,870 it relates for surgical and procedural care and 282 00:10:16,870 --> 00:10:18,389 how can we collate them to make them 283 00:10:18,389 --> 00:10:20,230 the most efficient as possible. So we've done 284 00:10:20,230 --> 00:10:22,149 a lot of work around that, and we'll 285 00:10:22,149 --> 00:10:23,210 continue to do that, 286 00:10:23,750 --> 00:10:25,509 you know, over the next year. We always 287 00:10:25,509 --> 00:10:27,430 plan 5 years out, because as soon as 288 00:10:27,430 --> 00:10:28,995 we get something in place, it always seems 289 00:10:28,995 --> 00:10:30,514 like we need the next thing in place, 290 00:10:30,754 --> 00:10:32,115 at that time. So we're trying to be 291 00:10:32,115 --> 00:10:34,355 very planful and not just think a year 292 00:10:34,355 --> 00:10:35,715 ahead, but how do we think, you know, 293 00:10:35,715 --> 00:10:37,475 1 year ahead, 3 years ahead, 5 years 294 00:10:37,475 --> 00:10:38,215 ahead, etcetera. 295 00:10:39,315 --> 00:10:42,279 Okay. The the never ending, growth challenge, but 296 00:10:42,279 --> 00:10:44,679 no doubt, exciting to go out to kinda 297 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:46,600 tackle that. I love that 5 year plan 298 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,320 as well. Caleb, fascinating to get more insight 299 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,000 into you and to Carle Health. It was 300 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,600 really, really pleasure to get to speak to 301 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,040 you today. Thank you so much for joining 302 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:55,019 The Becker's podcast. 303 00:10:56,051 --> 00:10:57,651 It was my pleasure. Thank you so much 304 00:10:57,651 --> 00:10:58,931 for having me, and I appreciate, 305 00:10:59,331 --> 00:11:00,391 your time as well.