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visit carecredit.comforward/beccarspodcast.

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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare

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Podcast,

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and we are recording live at the business

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and operations of ASCs.

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And I am pleased today to be joined

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by Cathy McDowell, who is the president and

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CEO of KZA.

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So, Cathy, thank you for joining me today.

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Thank you for having me.

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And as we get our, conversation started, I

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would love to have you to just take

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a moment to introduce yourself and tell us

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a little bit more about your work in

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the industry.

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Perfect. Thank you. My name is Kathy,

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and I am the president and CEO of

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KZA or Karen Zepko and Associates.

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We have been in the industry for 40

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years.

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Our focus is on billing, coding and audit

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education.

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Typically,

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we work with practice operations,

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optimizing,

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practice management,

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things such as that. So.

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Wonderful. Well, thank you for being here.

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And let's start our conversation

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discussing ASC volume. So this is expected to

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increase by 16%

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across the country by 2032.

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With this growth, what is the most pressing

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challenge to maintaining a positive patient experience?

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I think

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with the growth

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anticipated, I think staffing is going to be

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a major point. I think growing,

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patient numbers such as that is gonna require

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a larger staffing field, and we are already

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in a staffing shortage.

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Absolutely.

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And going along with that, what strategies have

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worked for your organization as you tackle some

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of these challenges?

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And what is the recommendation you have for

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health care leaders trying to stay ahead?

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It's a good question.

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So workflow efficiencies,

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that's that is the real focus. I think

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that,

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when you're first forced with, doing

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more work with less staff, you need to

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look at your efficiencies.

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Do you have the right people on the

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right seat and they're on the bus doing

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the right work?

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Maintaining

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personalized care is is difficult when you increase

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the volume such as that. So really having

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policies and procedures that your staff can follow

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to manage those processes.

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I think technology and,

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equipment,

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increase technology and and,

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education, I think is is key,

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to your staff.

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Educating them on how to manage the patients,

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through the system. Some things that have worked

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for us is to really

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educate

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from the beginning to the end of the

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process, meaning from the first encounter to the

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exit

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of the patient, care experience

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so that

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the client or patient feels cared for within

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the system. And, we've done a good job

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of that.

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Well, thank you for sharing your insights on

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that side of things. I'd love now to

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shift toward the financial side.

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So how can leaders ensure their staff are

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well equipped to help patients navigate the financial

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aspect of care, and how does this benefit

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the patient and provider relationship?

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I think it goes back

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to educating your staff and looking initially with

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those workflow efficiencies.

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Where do they feel confident?

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Where do they feel like they need more,

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direction, if you will?

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Teaching them how to talk about finance, scripting

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your staff on the front end, teaching them

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how to ask for money, and how to

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give patients other options

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to get the care that they need and

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not feel like they have to put it

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off. And and most importantly, not to feel

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embarrassed by it. Right? Because as as the

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care of the patient

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or the the the cost of health care

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has shifted more to the patient, I should

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say,

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that is driving

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patients to be consumers of care.

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And

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with that, they are measuring,

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and we have to train our staff to

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be able to answer their questions about the

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care that we deliver. So I'll go back

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to that education point.

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A 100%.

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And how do you train your staff to

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handle those conversations around health care costs and

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insurance coverage with patients so that they feel

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that they're informed and supported?

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It's a good question. So, typically, we

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it is very important for your staff to

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understand the business, to understand if there have

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been major payer changes,

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and then what is what is available

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to the patient to pay their bill.

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How can they delay payment? How can they

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can they use a health care credit card

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such as CareCredit? Can they pay through ACH?

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Do you have a a a payment plan

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that they can enroll in in within

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the office that'll give them structured payment plans,

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prior to that? And with the staff,

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typically,

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we would focus on

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making sure that they know if there's been

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changes,

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what is available to them to offer to

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the patient,

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and most importantly, doing this before the care

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has actually happened. Giving them that plan, what's

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gonna happen to them, and including the billing

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and financing arm into the into the continuum

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of care.

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100%. That is so important.

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And so as a leader, how do you

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create a culture that integrates that patient centered

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care and also the financial literacy?

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And why is that so important as the

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current ASC

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environment is growing?

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It's important because, again, as that the pay

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is the cost of health care has shifted

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to the patient. Caring for the whole patient

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is inclusive of helping them understand the financial

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impact or burden that they're gonna have and

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the options before them to be able to

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pay that bill, how they can afford the

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care that they need.

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And what best practices or strategies do you

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recommend to leaders who are striving to align

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staff with organizational goals and patient satisfaction rates?

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And what have you seen that's worked well

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for you?

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I think that it is extremely important to

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share those surveys,

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that the patient fills out with your staff

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to look at what is consistent or maybe

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a trend and try to script against that

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meaning help

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give dialogue or or words, if you will,

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to the staff to help manage that patient

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better. I think that the most important thing

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to engage staff and to engage the patient

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is the communication

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about the care that they're providing or they're

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receiving. What does it look like? And then

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most importantly,

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celebrate those wins and and and help your

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staff understand that it is important to

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not only focus on what they might be

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missing, but also focus on what they're doing

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right.

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Absolutely. Well, as we wrap our conversation

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here, is there any closing remarks you'd like

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to share on the podcast?

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I I think that it is incredibly important

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to understand

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this shift,

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to the patient and why the financial impact

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is so important in the continuum of care

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of the patient. Typically, care starts when the

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procedure starts,

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in our in our historical,

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care landscape, and that has completely changed. And

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I think it's really important to involve that

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financial care of the patient as part of

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that care continuum when you're planning the care

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of your patient.

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Wonderful. Well, Kathy, thank you so much for

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taking the time to join me today on

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the Becker's healthcare podcast. Again, we are live

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at the business and operation of ASTs.

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Thank you for having me.

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And I'd also like to say thank you

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to CareCredit as well for sponsoring this episode.

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You can tune in to more podcasts from

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the Becker's Healthcare

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by visiting our podcast page. Have a wonderful

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rest of your day.