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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare
podcast, and we are live at the business
and operations of ASCs.
I'm currently joined by doctor Basil Besh, who
is the founder of Precision Surgi Center. So,
doctor Besh, thanks for joining me today. Thanks
for having me. Yeah. Can you please take
a moment and just introduce yourself a little
bit further as we get started here and
talk about your role in the industry? Sure.
My name is Basil Besh. I'm a North
Peak surgeon.
Started our surgery center about 14 years ago,
doing well.
I also do quite a bit of leadership
within orthopedics,
health care policy, and my, interest is health
care economics.
Alright. Well, thank you for being here. We'd
love to start our conversation today talking about
ASC volume. So this is expected to increase
countrywide by 16% by the year 2030 2.
With this growth, what is the most pressing
challenge to maintaining a positive patient experience?
I I think change and comfort are mutually
exclusive, and getting people used to procedures that
were historically done in the inpatient setting
and shifting them to the outpatient realm
is a gradual process. I think the 2
biggest examples of that in orthopedics are total
joint replacement and spine surgery.
These are cases that are traditionally done inpatient.
Patients have gotten used to that
and there's an acclimation period to getting them
to shift to the outpatient realm. Interestingly,
I think COVID did ASCs a big favor.
I think people are
more open to not utilizing a hospital
now than they ever have been. So I
think that's helped the ASC industry.
A 100%.
And going off of that, what strategies have
worked for your organization to tackle some of
these challenges, and what's one recommendation you have
for healthcare leaders to stay ahead?
I I think you have to be proactive
in terms of speaking to your patients, managing
their expectations,
reassurance,
but but
that challenge becomes less and less every day
as as the acclamation progresses. But,
I think, you know, be out in front
of the problem rather than
reactive, I think is the best advice I
can give.
100%.
And shifting gears slightly toward the financial side,
how can leaders ensure their staff are well
equipped to help patients navigate the financial aspects
of care, and how does this benefit patient
provider relationships?
Again,
it's important to be proactive. I think,
not just the shift towards the outpatient realm,
but in terms of benefit design changes that
we've seen where
health insurers
have seen benefit
to having patients have more skin in the
game. It's important to have these conversations with
patients in an open setting,
again, managing their expectations, not just clinically, but
financially as well.
And as we close our conversation today, do
you have any parting words that you'd like
to share on the podcast?
Well, I I I think there's an inevitability
to ASC growth. And I think the healthcare
cost curve is not sustainable,
and one of the primary drivers of that
cost,
is inpatient treatment. And I think that the
truth is the wind is at our back.
And it's a good time to be involved
in the ASC industry.
Wonderful. Well, doctor Besh, thanks so much for
joining me today on the Becker's Healthcare Podcast.
Again, we're live at the business and operations
of ASCs.