1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,980 Looking for a solution that helps alleviate administrative 2 00:00:03,199 --> 00:00:05,599 tasks for your staff and also helps your 3 00:00:05,599 --> 00:00:07,599 patients cover their out of pocket health care 4 00:00:07,599 --> 00:00:08,099 expenses? 5 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,199 Find what you're looking for from CareCredit because 6 00:00:11,199 --> 00:00:13,919 CareCredit is a credit card and more. It's 7 00:00:13,919 --> 00:00:16,375 a helping hand for staff and a flexible 8 00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:19,434 payment solution for patients. For over thirty years, 9 00:00:19,574 --> 00:00:22,934 CareCredit, a Synchrony solution, has offered patients a 10 00:00:22,934 --> 00:00:25,894 credit card with promotional financing options to get 11 00:00:25,894 --> 00:00:27,894 the care they want while helping staff do 12 00:00:27,894 --> 00:00:30,649 what they do best, provide care. To learn 13 00:00:30,649 --> 00:00:32,929 more, visit carecredit.com 14 00:00:32,929 --> 00:00:34,789 forward slash beckerspodcast. 15 00:00:35,649 --> 00:00:37,890 This is Gracelyn Keller at the Becker's Healthcare 16 00:00:37,890 --> 00:00:40,449 Podcast, and we are recording live at the 17 00:00:40,449 --> 00:00:43,189 thirty first annual business and operations of ASCs. 18 00:00:43,585 --> 00:00:45,825 I'm currently joined by Jerry Eaves, who is 19 00:00:45,825 --> 00:00:48,704 the CEO and administrator of Bone and Joint 20 00:00:48,704 --> 00:00:51,744 Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center. Jerry, thanks for 21 00:00:51,744 --> 00:00:53,905 being here. To start us off, I'll have 22 00:00:53,905 --> 00:00:55,984 you introduce yourself and tell us a little 23 00:00:55,984 --> 00:00:57,905 bit more about your work in the ASC 24 00:00:57,905 --> 00:00:58,405 space. 25 00:00:59,260 --> 00:01:01,899 Absolutely. Thank you. And as you said, I 26 00:01:01,899 --> 00:01:04,379 am Jeri Eaves. I'm the administrator and CEO 27 00:01:04,379 --> 00:01:06,560 at the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee 28 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:08,000 and Franklin, Tennessee. 29 00:01:08,780 --> 00:01:10,640 We are a six OR 30 00:01:11,444 --> 00:01:14,265 surgery center. We do orthopedics and spine. 31 00:01:14,805 --> 00:01:17,145 We opened right in the middle of COVID. 32 00:01:17,365 --> 00:01:19,844 So, the facility opened five years ago in 33 00:01:19,844 --> 00:01:21,385 '20 March 2020. 34 00:01:22,484 --> 00:01:24,805 And I myself have been in health care 35 00:01:24,805 --> 00:01:27,145 in the ambulatory setting over twenty years, 36 00:01:28,060 --> 00:01:29,739 and I did start my career out as 37 00:01:29,739 --> 00:01:30,319 a nurse. 38 00:01:30,939 --> 00:01:33,099 But I love working on the administrative side 39 00:01:33,099 --> 00:01:34,400 and working with operations, 40 00:01:35,819 --> 00:01:37,599 and I look forward to our podcast. 41 00:01:37,980 --> 00:01:38,480 Wonderful. 42 00:01:38,939 --> 00:01:40,974 Well, let's start our conversation with the ASC 43 00:01:40,974 --> 00:01:43,055 market because in The US, this is projected 44 00:01:43,055 --> 00:01:44,974 to reach $60,800,000,000 45 00:01:44,974 --> 00:01:46,015 by 2030, 46 00:01:46,015 --> 00:01:48,094 and it continues to experience strong year over 47 00:01:48,094 --> 00:01:50,415 year growth. So from your perspective, what are 48 00:01:50,415 --> 00:01:52,900 the most significant trends in Market Forces driving 49 00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:55,140 this expansion, and how should ASC leaders be 50 00:01:55,140 --> 00:01:56,040 preparing today? 51 00:01:56,980 --> 00:01:59,620 Absolutely. Great question. So one of the things 52 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,939 that we wanna see is large shifts in 53 00:02:01,939 --> 00:02:04,359 cases to the ASC outpatient setting. 54 00:02:04,739 --> 00:02:07,459 We're gonna see minimally invasive techniques that include 55 00:02:07,459 --> 00:02:07,959 robotics 56 00:02:08,955 --> 00:02:11,135 and AI. All of those are increasing. 57 00:02:11,675 --> 00:02:13,594 This is gonna help us perform more complex 58 00:02:13,594 --> 00:02:15,295 cases in the outpatient setting. 59 00:02:16,235 --> 00:02:18,955 Cost and managed care contracts are, you know, 60 00:02:18,955 --> 00:02:21,135 going to push more cases to the ASCs 61 00:02:21,675 --> 00:02:22,974 along with patient performance. 62 00:02:23,769 --> 00:02:25,449 Quality metrics are gonna be a huge thing 63 00:02:25,449 --> 00:02:27,310 that we're going to focus on. 64 00:02:27,610 --> 00:02:30,889 ASC leaders should prepare, you know, they should 65 00:02:30,889 --> 00:02:32,349 look at their road map ahead 66 00:02:32,889 --> 00:02:34,590 and look at your margins, 67 00:02:35,209 --> 00:02:37,854 analyze your case mix, proper profitability 68 00:02:38,235 --> 00:02:40,235 margins. Make sure you're looking at all of 69 00:02:40,235 --> 00:02:41,834 that because it's going to be huge with 70 00:02:41,834 --> 00:02:43,514 some of the the forces that we're dealing 71 00:02:43,514 --> 00:02:44,014 with. 72 00:02:44,794 --> 00:02:47,275 And from AI and robotic surgeries to advanced 73 00:02:47,275 --> 00:02:49,995 EHR systems, technology remains both a make or 74 00:02:49,995 --> 00:02:52,239 break factor and a critical driver of ASC 75 00:02:52,239 --> 00:02:53,620 operations at scale. 76 00:02:54,079 --> 00:02:55,919 So how do you see deeper tech integration 77 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,719 shaping the way ASCs deliver care and manage 78 00:02:58,719 --> 00:03:00,739 their business over the next few years? 79 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:01,620 Absolutely. 80 00:03:02,805 --> 00:03:05,625 So technology is going to redefine what scalable 81 00:03:05,685 --> 00:03:07,944 means when we talk about AI and robotic 82 00:03:08,004 --> 00:03:10,165 surgeries. We used to just need case mix 83 00:03:10,165 --> 00:03:10,905 and efficiency. 84 00:03:11,365 --> 00:03:12,824 Now we need data integration, 85 00:03:13,205 --> 00:03:13,705 automation, 86 00:03:14,004 --> 00:03:15,844 and precision. So a lot of that is 87 00:03:15,844 --> 00:03:17,129 just going to be key. 88 00:03:17,530 --> 00:03:20,010 Data driven decision making is going to also 89 00:03:20,010 --> 00:03:21,530 be one of those things that we're looking 90 00:03:21,530 --> 00:03:22,030 at. 91 00:03:22,409 --> 00:03:25,689 We're connecting clinical, financial, and operational data, which 92 00:03:25,689 --> 00:03:27,689 allows us to have real time visibility in 93 00:03:27,689 --> 00:03:29,710 the case cost, surgeon utilization, 94 00:03:30,090 --> 00:03:32,944 and quality metrics. We're also able to forecast 95 00:03:33,245 --> 00:03:33,745 cancellations, 96 00:03:34,205 --> 00:03:35,584 optimize block scheduling, 97 00:03:36,125 --> 00:03:39,004 flag high risk patients easier. There's so much 98 00:03:39,004 --> 00:03:41,485 going into technology and how we drive our 99 00:03:41,485 --> 00:03:41,985 business 100 00:03:42,444 --> 00:03:43,185 going forward. 101 00:03:44,300 --> 00:03:46,800 And follow-up to that, is there one specific 102 00:03:46,860 --> 00:03:49,020 technology or innovation that you would pinpoint as 103 00:03:49,020 --> 00:03:49,759 a standout, 104 00:03:50,300 --> 00:03:51,039 to being 105 00:03:51,419 --> 00:03:52,479 especially transformative? 106 00:03:53,259 --> 00:03:55,580 I think robotics is going to be one 107 00:03:55,580 --> 00:03:57,384 that I would say is key. Having a 108 00:03:57,384 --> 00:03:59,245 personal experience with it myself, 109 00:03:59,944 --> 00:04:01,724 it's it helps with recovery, 110 00:04:02,664 --> 00:04:03,485 post op, 111 00:04:04,104 --> 00:04:06,824 pain control. There's just so many things. It's 112 00:04:06,824 --> 00:04:08,284 efficiency in the OR. 113 00:04:08,745 --> 00:04:10,264 There's just so many things that I think 114 00:04:10,264 --> 00:04:12,044 it's driving. So I'd say robotics. 115 00:04:12,430 --> 00:04:13,169 100%. 116 00:04:13,550 --> 00:04:16,129 And then with 60% of health systems considering 117 00:04:16,189 --> 00:04:19,310 ASC joint ventures, and many ASCs already partnering 118 00:04:19,310 --> 00:04:22,110 with systems in their communities, what opportunities do 119 00:04:22,110 --> 00:04:24,750 you see for collaboration, whether with other providers 120 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:27,170 or vendors, to strengthen patient care and operational 121 00:04:27,230 --> 00:04:27,730 efficiency? 122 00:04:28,884 --> 00:04:31,225 So I really think collaborations where the ASCs 123 00:04:31,285 --> 00:04:32,665 can can move the needle. 124 00:04:33,125 --> 00:04:35,064 Joint ventures with health systems 125 00:04:35,524 --> 00:04:36,185 are shifting 126 00:04:36,805 --> 00:04:38,985 from ownership to true alignment. 127 00:04:39,285 --> 00:04:42,189 We're seeing that that collaboration and that they're 128 00:04:42,189 --> 00:04:43,490 working together more. 129 00:04:44,029 --> 00:04:46,449 The shifting from ownership to true 130 00:04:47,149 --> 00:04:50,029 relationships and alignment, working together to provide a 131 00:04:50,029 --> 00:04:51,470 higher standard of care for all of our 132 00:04:51,470 --> 00:04:53,649 patients is, truly important. 133 00:04:54,235 --> 00:04:57,595 Partnerships with anesthesia groups and vendors can increase 134 00:04:57,595 --> 00:04:58,895 supply chain efficiency, 135 00:04:59,514 --> 00:05:02,335 keep cost down, and increase case throughput. 136 00:05:02,795 --> 00:05:03,935 All of it is 137 00:05:04,235 --> 00:05:05,995 things that we have to work together as 138 00:05:05,995 --> 00:05:07,910 a team, and the team is not just 139 00:05:07,910 --> 00:05:10,069 your immediate team. It's not just your managers 140 00:05:10,069 --> 00:05:11,610 or your leaders. It's actually 141 00:05:12,069 --> 00:05:12,730 the whole, 142 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:15,589 it's the whole system. It's it's your hospital 143 00:05:15,589 --> 00:05:18,069 partner, your your vendors, your if you have 144 00:05:18,069 --> 00:05:20,230 a management company, you have to work together 145 00:05:20,230 --> 00:05:21,449 with all of these people. 146 00:05:21,954 --> 00:05:24,914 Your contracted services, it's all key to to 147 00:05:24,914 --> 00:05:27,314 making everything go well and the patient having 148 00:05:27,314 --> 00:05:28,214 a great outcome. 149 00:05:29,154 --> 00:05:31,154 And, Jeri, is there anything we didn't touch 150 00:05:31,154 --> 00:05:32,595 on or any final thoughts you'd like to 151 00:05:32,595 --> 00:05:34,214 share as we wrap up our conversation? 152 00:05:35,370 --> 00:05:37,389 I do think that integration 153 00:05:38,009 --> 00:05:39,949 is the new growth strategy, 154 00:05:40,729 --> 00:05:42,430 technology data, and partnerships. 155 00:05:43,050 --> 00:05:45,870 Efficiency is going to define our success. Partnerships 156 00:05:46,009 --> 00:05:48,354 with everyone as I spoke about is going 157 00:05:48,354 --> 00:05:49,334 to build stability, 158 00:05:50,194 --> 00:05:53,314 shared resources, stronger community impact. And one of 159 00:05:53,314 --> 00:05:56,354 the biggest things is leadership mindset matters. Leaders 160 00:05:56,354 --> 00:05:57,495 have to think strategically, 161 00:05:58,194 --> 00:06:01,634 invest intentionally, and stay agile as payer models 162 00:06:01,634 --> 00:06:02,134 technology 163 00:06:02,459 --> 00:06:04,860 and work realities involve. And we have to 164 00:06:04,860 --> 00:06:06,699 be in all this together. So doing it 165 00:06:06,699 --> 00:06:08,399 all together is going to be key. 166 00:06:09,180 --> 00:06:10,620 Well, thank you so much for joining me 167 00:06:10,620 --> 00:06:12,939 today on the Becker's Healthcare podcast and sharing 168 00:06:12,939 --> 00:06:15,180 these thoughts and insights. Again, we are recording 169 00:06:15,180 --> 00:06:17,099 live at the thirty first annual business and 170 00:06:17,099 --> 00:06:18,240 operations of ASCs.