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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, and we are live at the business

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and operations of ASCs.

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I'm currently joined by Nylene Flores, who is

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the chief administrative officer at Lake Oconee Orthopedics.

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So thank you so much for joining me

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today. We'd love to have you start by

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introducing yourself and telling us a little bit

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more about your role. Yeah. Thank you so

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much for this opportunity.

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Actually, I have been in the health care

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industry for about 16 years. I started in

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registration at a hospital

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and, have been a surgery center administrator for

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the last 4 years, and I just transitioned

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into running an orthopedic surgery practice

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in Georgia.

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Wonderful. Well, thank you for taking the time

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to be here. And let's start our conversation

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with ASC volume. So across the country, we're

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seeing this expected to increase by at least

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16%

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by 2032.

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So with this growth,

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what are the most pressing challenges to maintaining

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a positive patient experience?

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Well, the case acuity we've seen

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grow

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that being of cases being moved to the

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outpatient

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space.

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This has increased

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the patient recovery time frame. Patients seem to

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recover so much

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better at home.

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And, obviously,

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making sure that we have the appropriate patient

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population chosen to bring these cases to the

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outpatient

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space.

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But

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the challenge is that

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patients are used to going to the hospital

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if they're sick. So changing that model

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and bringing these cases, ensuring that the patients

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feel safe in the outpatient space, guided by

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physicians who promote that model,

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is going to assist us to ensure that

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patients are receiving really good care at the,

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outpatient setting.

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And going along with that, what strategies have

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worked for your organization to tackle this challenge?

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And what's one recommendation you have for health

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care leaders to stay ahead of it? Well,

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stay ahead of the curve by and staying

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informed and staying up with the current trends

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and have physician buy in. So your physician

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owners

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have to be part of the game.

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They have to bring their cases out patient

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and have true a 100%

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buy in into their business

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and growing that, ensuring that they are communicating

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that to their patients at the time of

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their visits in the

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office and then moving those cases to the

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outpatient space.

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And shifting gears just a little bit to

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the financial side, how can leaders ensure their

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staff are well equipped to help patients navigate

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the financial aspects of care? And how does

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this benefit patient provider relationships?

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Well, we know that hard it's very hard

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to find

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awesome people.

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And when we find some awesome people, we

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wanna make sure that we keep them.

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And it really starts when we're talking about

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finance, it really starts with every aspect of

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your business office

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from registration

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to scheduling

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to insurance verification.

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We wanna make sure that all of those

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positions

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also have buy in to your center. We

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wanna reward them

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and value them in the center and ensure

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that they feel just as valued as every

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nurse

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and every physician that comes to your center.

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It benefits the patient provider relationship because if

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patients are well informed as to their financial

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responsibilities

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and know what to expect, and are explained

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that procedures are cheaper in the ASC space

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than in the hospital.

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They understand that we're looking out for their

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best interest

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and not necessarily

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the financial interest of the hospital or

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the doctor

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or some

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big company. We're really worried about them. And

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that

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direct communication from the staff

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will help them feel at ease and ultimately

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lead to a,

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clean revenue stream.

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Wonderful. And as we wrap our conversation up,

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is there anything else you'd like to share

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or any closing words you have for the

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podcast?

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Yeah. Other than just capitalize

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on the

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everything that's happening in health care right now.

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And to value your staff and every one

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of your staff. Ensure that all roles are

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appreciated

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and that physicians

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take an active interest in the staff,

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not just in administrative leadership.

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So that all aspects are brought together for

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truly a great patient experience.

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Wonderful. Well, Nylene, thanks so much for joining

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me today on the Becker's healthcare podcast. Again,

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we're live

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at the business and operations of ASCs. Thanks.

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Thank you.