1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,960 Hello. This is Francesca Matthews with the Becker's 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:04,179 ASC review podcast. 3 00:00:04,719 --> 00:00:06,480 I'm thrilled to be joined today by Ashley 4 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:06,980 Hilliard, 5 00:00:07,359 --> 00:00:07,859 MBA, 6 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:08,660 MSN, 7 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:10,179 RN, CPAN, 8 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,699 the administrator of Piedmont Outpatient Surgery Center. 9 00:00:14,025 --> 00:00:15,464 Ashley, thank you so much for being here 10 00:00:15,464 --> 00:00:15,964 today. 11 00:00:16,585 --> 00:00:18,504 Thanks for having me on the podcast. As 12 00:00:18,504 --> 00:00:20,265 you said, I my name is Ashley. I'm 13 00:00:20,265 --> 00:00:23,644 currently the administrator at Piedmont Outpatient Surgery Center. 14 00:00:24,105 --> 00:00:26,524 We are located in Winston Salem, North Carolina. 15 00:00:27,699 --> 00:00:30,099 I've been an administrator for about four years 16 00:00:30,099 --> 00:00:32,179 or in for twenty three years. And as 17 00:00:32,179 --> 00:00:34,500 you mentioned, I hold a master's degree in 18 00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:36,439 nursing leadership as well as an MBA. 19 00:00:37,299 --> 00:00:39,140 Excellent. Yeah. Thank you so much for joining 20 00:00:39,140 --> 00:00:41,079 us again, and thank you for that introduction. 21 00:00:42,225 --> 00:00:44,325 Just kinda moving forward here in our discussion. 22 00:00:45,585 --> 00:00:47,765 As an administrator and somebody with 23 00:00:48,065 --> 00:00:50,244 a lot of experience in in medicine, 24 00:00:51,024 --> 00:00:53,344 what are the top three trends you're following 25 00:00:53,344 --> 00:00:55,365 in health care and ASCs today? 26 00:00:56,179 --> 00:00:58,340 Well, first, I'm anxious to see how the 27 00:00:58,340 --> 00:01:00,820 new procedure codes added to the ASC list 28 00:01:00,820 --> 00:01:01,960 is gonna work out. 29 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:05,299 We're seeing that more complex cases can be 30 00:01:05,299 --> 00:01:08,019 safely done in the ASC setting. So it's 31 00:01:08,019 --> 00:01:10,280 gonna be interesting to see how this increases 32 00:01:10,420 --> 00:01:11,079 in volume. 33 00:01:12,075 --> 00:01:14,474 Second, with more procedures able to be done 34 00:01:14,474 --> 00:01:15,215 in the ASC, 35 00:01:15,674 --> 00:01:17,834 really want you to see if reimbursements are 36 00:01:17,834 --> 00:01:18,655 gonna change. 37 00:01:19,114 --> 00:01:20,974 When we add more complex cases, 38 00:01:21,435 --> 00:01:23,435 there's gonna be an increased cost, and we 39 00:01:23,435 --> 00:01:25,674 need to make sure that our reimbursement reflects 40 00:01:25,674 --> 00:01:26,734 reflects this. 41 00:01:27,310 --> 00:01:29,469 And then finally, with the shift to the 42 00:01:29,469 --> 00:01:30,609 ASC for care, 43 00:01:31,150 --> 00:01:33,549 my question is how will physicians that are 44 00:01:33,549 --> 00:01:35,090 employed by a hospital react? 45 00:01:35,630 --> 00:01:37,950 Often, it's easier and quicker to get a 46 00:01:37,950 --> 00:01:39,090 case on the ASC, 47 00:01:39,884 --> 00:01:42,364 But will the hospitals want those employee physicians 48 00:01:42,364 --> 00:01:44,444 to utilize an ASC? So that's gonna be 49 00:01:44,444 --> 00:01:46,524 kinda something to watch as well as more 50 00:01:46,524 --> 00:01:48,204 comes out of the hospital and into the 51 00:01:48,204 --> 00:01:49,344 ASC world. 52 00:01:50,204 --> 00:01:53,004 Absolutely. That's all really interesting and kinda falls 53 00:01:53,004 --> 00:01:55,269 in line with conversations I've been having with 54 00:01:55,269 --> 00:01:57,369 ASC leaders over the last few weeks, especially 55 00:01:57,829 --> 00:02:00,869 just everything related to, you know, procedure migration 56 00:02:00,869 --> 00:02:02,569 and the recent CMS updates. 57 00:02:03,109 --> 00:02:04,950 So, yeah, that's definitely resonating with our with 58 00:02:04,950 --> 00:02:07,355 our audience there. And what are you most 59 00:02:07,355 --> 00:02:09,354 excited about right now in health care and 60 00:02:09,354 --> 00:02:09,854 ASCs? 61 00:02:11,194 --> 00:02:13,455 Really just the addition of more procedures. 62 00:02:13,754 --> 00:02:15,995 That really excites me. It it's gonna open 63 00:02:15,995 --> 00:02:17,675 up a lot of doors that we can 64 00:02:17,675 --> 00:02:20,709 fill our rooms. So I'm really cautiously excited 65 00:02:20,709 --> 00:02:22,310 right now because there's still a lot to 66 00:02:22,310 --> 00:02:24,169 think about when it comes to that. So 67 00:02:24,229 --> 00:02:26,889 I'm excited about more cases, but cautiously excited. 68 00:02:27,590 --> 00:02:29,509 Mhmm. Definitely. And, again, just been hearing, I 69 00:02:29,509 --> 00:02:31,370 think, that kind of double edged sword 70 00:02:31,669 --> 00:02:33,349 response from a lot of leaders. You know, 71 00:02:33,349 --> 00:02:35,664 it's, again, very exciting for there to be 72 00:02:35,664 --> 00:02:37,425 so many procedures added to the list, but 73 00:02:37,425 --> 00:02:39,905 it'll mean sort of scaling up and, you 74 00:02:39,905 --> 00:02:41,504 know, being prepared for all that as a 75 00:02:41,504 --> 00:02:42,405 health care leader. 76 00:02:43,344 --> 00:02:45,504 And then how are you thinking about growth 77 00:02:45,504 --> 00:02:46,884 over the next twelve months? 78 00:02:47,790 --> 00:02:50,129 So right now, I run a single specialty 79 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:51,810 ASC here in North Carolina. 80 00:02:52,430 --> 00:02:54,030 And at the end of the year, our 81 00:02:54,030 --> 00:02:56,590 certificate of need laws are changing. So I'm 82 00:02:56,590 --> 00:02:58,430 looking to see how this is gonna benefit 83 00:02:58,430 --> 00:03:00,530 us and allow us to grow naturally. 84 00:03:01,245 --> 00:03:02,705 In addition to that, we've also 85 00:03:03,004 --> 00:03:05,805 added two new positions coming on board later 86 00:03:05,805 --> 00:03:08,284 this month and then another next year. So 87 00:03:08,284 --> 00:03:09,745 we have plenty of growth, 88 00:03:10,125 --> 00:03:11,025 in our future. 89 00:03:12,044 --> 00:03:13,965 Yeah. Absolutely. And just a little more I'm 90 00:03:13,965 --> 00:03:15,629 curious on the the c o n laws, 91 00:03:15,710 --> 00:03:16,909 something I read about a lot here at 92 00:03:16,909 --> 00:03:19,230 Becker's. Could you elaborate maybe just a little 93 00:03:19,230 --> 00:03:21,389 bit more on the change in laws and, 94 00:03:22,110 --> 00:03:24,270 if what what expectations you might have if 95 00:03:24,270 --> 00:03:25,409 you have any yet? 96 00:03:26,669 --> 00:03:28,750 So, really, after the end of the year, 97 00:03:28,750 --> 00:03:31,205 starting January 1, the laws of the certificate 98 00:03:31,205 --> 00:03:32,564 of need is gonna go away in North 99 00:03:32,564 --> 00:03:33,064 Carolina. 100 00:03:33,525 --> 00:03:35,465 So us being a single specialty, 101 00:03:36,324 --> 00:03:37,224 surgery center, 102 00:03:37,685 --> 00:03:39,525 it opens us up to being maybe a 103 00:03:39,525 --> 00:03:40,905 multi specialty ASC. 104 00:03:41,604 --> 00:03:42,965 So that's something we're gonna have to look 105 00:03:42,965 --> 00:03:44,645 at and really see if that's in our 106 00:03:44,645 --> 00:03:45,145 plans. 107 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:47,539 Absolutely. Yeah. No. There's 108 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:49,360 try to keep everyone updated. I know there's 109 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:50,979 a number of states with kind of fluctuating 110 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:53,840 certificate of need laws this year. So, I 111 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,520 think a lot of people are in a 112 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:56,419 similar position. 113 00:03:57,840 --> 00:03:59,504 That is actually all I have for you 114 00:03:59,585 --> 00:04:01,905 today, Ashley. Thank you so much for joining 115 00:04:01,905 --> 00:04:04,145 us. It's been a pleasure speaking with you, 116 00:04:04,145 --> 00:04:05,665 and I look forward to connecting with you 117 00:04:05,665 --> 00:04:07,665 again in the future. Alright. Thank you so 118 00:04:07,665 --> 00:04:08,724 much for having me.