Today is part two of a three-part podcast series on Expanding Your ASC. As we learned in the last episode, expansion will look different for every surgery center. However, whether adding physicians, introducing a new specialty, opening another OR, or growing your team, having a growth mindset is essential for your surgery center's longevity. So today, we are sitting down with Bruce Johnstone, a Principal at Apex, and he's sharing great advice on how you can successfully add a new OR to your facility.

After my conversation with Bruce, we'll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Last September, HST released a State of the Industry Report with 45 chapters of best practices, 125+ KPIs for ASCs to track, and free benchmarking data for 15 key metrics. We are currently working on a 2024 version, so in honor of being two months out from our publish date, I want to share with you four of the key metrics we published last year and talk through how to improve them.

Dive deeper into the KPIs:

Unused OR Blocks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvzq_ynVg9o]

Average Net Revenue Per Specialty [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSoQ2RgOaxM]

Patient Deposit Collection Rates [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xknoN38J1AM]

Days to Bill [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mP1kAcNJ0M]

2023 State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Bruce Johnstone – Expanding Your ASC: Adding an OR 

We have officially wrapped up our "Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom" series and are starting a new series on "Expanding Your ASC."

Today, I am very excited to have on returning guest, Michael McClain, to discuss how you can successfully bring on new surgeons and add new specialties to your existing facility. Michael is currently the Founder and Managing Member at LeftCoast Healthcare Advisors, so he works with ASCs on their strategic development all the time. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to growing and evolving your facility in a seamless and financially beneficial way.

In our news recap, we'll cover the CMS 2025 Proposed Medicare Payment Rule, diversity in the operating room, the Coalition of Health AI, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a nurse who went above and beyond to save a runner's life.

Articles Mentioned:

CMS Releases 2025 Proposed Medicare Payment Rule [https://www.ascassociation.org/home]

Why We Need More Women Surgeons [https://www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/the-magazine/article/why-we-need-more-women-surgeons]

CHAI releases draft framework for responsible health AI [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/coalition-for-health-ai-chai-standards-framework/719970/]

Nurse Jackie Stange’s Heroic Actions Save Penn State Runner’s Life [https://dailynurse.com/nurse-jackie-stanges-heroic-actions-save-penn-state-runners-life/]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Michael McClain – Expanding Your ASC: Bringing on New Surgeons + Specialties 

At the end of every podcast episode, we always ask our guests, “What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?”

We took eleven of the most recent answers and turned them into this week’s recap episode. The advice they share covers everything from sterilization to board communication, staff appreciation, patient satisfaction survey results, block time, benchmarking, and so much more.

We hope everyone enjoys this round-up, and a huge thank you to our featured guests, in order of appearance:

 * Monica Daniel
 * Benita Tapia
 * Kate Perlstrom
 * Tina Piotrowski
 * Alex Yampolsky
 * Alex Taira
 * Janet Carlson
 * Amy Ishmael
 * Kristen Richards
 * Kristin Truesdell
 * Dr. Joseph Puma



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Highlight Reel – What is one thing you can do this week to improve your surgery center? 

Today kicks off the third and final part of our “capitalizing on the cardiology boom” series. Dr. Joseph Puma is the founder of Sorin Medical and the founder and president of the New York Ambulatory Cardiovascular Society. New York does not currently allow CV procedures to take place in an ambulatory setting, so Dr. Puma is working with many organizations to change this. I had the chance to ask Dr. Puma about the most common concerns he hears from both surgery center leaders and governing bodies, and we got into the years' worth of positive outcomes he has compiled and where we go from here.

In our news recap, we’ll cover the latest from Change Healthcare, the highest-paid ASC specialty, the top citations from CMS in 2023, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a new finger-prick test for Parkinson’s.

Related Episodes:

 * Kristen Richards – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Key Considerations Before Adding Procedures
 * Kristin Truesdell – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Maximizing Revenue



Articles Mentioned:

 * Change Healthcare starts sending data breach notifications after cyberattack [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/change-healthcare-cyberattack-data-breach-notifications-start/719514/]
 * The highest-paid ASC specialty [https://www.beckersasc.com/orthopedic/the-highest-paid-asc-specialty.html]
 * CMS Releases Top Citations from 2023 [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/digital-debut/cms-releases-top-citations-from-2023]
 * AI brought hope in tackling Parkinson’s [https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-25-of-2024/]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Dr. Joseph Puma – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Dispelling Safety Myths 

Today is part 2 of our 3-part series about how you can capitalize on the cardiology boom. Last week, we talked with Kristen Richards about key considerations to think through before adding CV procedures to your ASC. Today, we’ll sit down with Kristin Truesdell, the Senior Vice President at Corazon, to cover all things money. We’ll get into what expenses you’ll encounter, how to negotiate with payors, and general strategies ASCs can leverage to maximize reimbursement.

In our news recap, we’ll cover Rapper Fat Joe on Capitol Hill, trends that are exciting ASC owners right now, the power shift in ASC ownership, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a groundbreaking device called Popsy.

Related Episodes:

 * Kristen Richards – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Key Considerations Before Adding Procedures



Articles Mentioned:

 * Fat Joe wants hospital price transparency [https://www.npr.org/2024/06/05/nx-s1-4974810/fat-joe-power-to-the-patients-hospital-price-transparency]
 * The trends exciting ASC leaders [https://www.beckersasc.com/leadership/the-trends-exciting-asc-leaders.html]
 * Power Shift [https://www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/the-magazine/article/power-shift]
 * Veronica Pellegrino Unveils Groundbreaking Invention Set to Transform Nursing Workflows [https://dailynurse.com/veronica-pellegrino-unveils-groundbreaking-invention-set-to-transform-nursing-workflows/]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Kristin Truesdell – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Maximizing Revenue

Today kicks off our three-week series about capitalizing on the cardiology boom! Kristen Richards is the VP of Cardiovascular Operations at Atlas Healthcare Partners, and she will be our first guest in the series. We had a great discussion about what ASCs need to consider if they’re thinking about adding cardio cases. Preparing your infrastructure and staff has some ‘gotchas’ you do not want to overlook, so Kristen walks us through how to properly prepare. Kristen then covers capital expenses to plan for and shares the potential net revenue per case for some of these CV cases.

After my conversation with Kristen, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, I’ll break down the average number of accurately paid, underpaid, or overpaid claims. After sharing the stats of what 450 ASCs are experiencing, I’ll get into how you can analyze your own numbers and the steps you can take if you’re consistently getting underpaid.

Resources Mentioned:

HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-repo]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Kristen Richards – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Key Considerations Before Adding Procedures  

Amy Ishmael is currently a senior product manager at HST Pathways, but prior to joining HST, Amy was a GI lab tech for years and a surgery scheduler at an ASC that saw 450 cases/month. She is no stranger to the topic we’re covering today, which is how you can maximize OR utilization through block time optimization. In HST’s State of the Industry report, we shared that, on average, 42% of block time ends up going unused, which is such a waste of revenue opportunity. Amy will walk us through best practices of allocating block time, release policies, and how to incentivize physicians.

In our news recap, we’ll cover Florida’s new price transparency laws, how National Nurses United is fighting back against AI, recent efforts to address the minority physician shortage, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a woman who just received her sixth nursing degree.

Articles Mentioned:

Florida Enacts New Price Transparency Requirements [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/news-and-publications/ga-update/2024/05-16?utm_term=Florida%20Enacts%20New%20Price%20Transparency%20Requirements&utm_campaign=Florida%20Enacts%20New%20Price%20Transparency%20Requirements&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On%20Software&utm_medium=email&cm_mmc=Act-On%20Software-_-email-_-Florida%20Enacts%20New%20Price%20Transparency%20Requirements-_-Florida%20Enacts%20New%20Price%20Transparency%20Requirements]

National Nurses United survey finds A.I. technology degrades and undermines patient safety [https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/national-nurses-united-survey-finds-ai-technology-undermines-patient-safety]

Doctors of color call on Congress to help address minority physician shortage [https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/doctors-color-call-congress-help-address-minority-physician-shortage/5SUZJZMYKFD7XDWQFKTBTXSH4U/]

Arizona Nurse Discovers Dual Passions in Nursing and Earns Sixth Degree [https://dailynurse.com/arizona-nurse-discovers-dual-passions-in-nursing/]

HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Amy Ishmael – Maximizing OR Utilization Through Block Time Optimization 

Enhancing OR utilization is crucial for boosting your ASC’s financial performance, but knowing where to start can be challenging. In today's episode, Janet Carlson, the Executive Director of ASCs at Commonwealth Pain & Spine, shares six actionable tips to help you book more cases at your surgery center efficiently. Janet's strategies focus on preventing staff burnout and ensuring physician satisfaction.

Following our conversation with Janet, we will transition to our Data & Insights segment. We will dive into claim denials, exploring the average denial rate for ASCs, the significance of tracking this data, and practical advice for reducing denial rates.

Resources Mentioned:

HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Janet Carlson – 6 Tips for Improving OR Utilization 

Our guest this week is Alex Taira. Alex is the Regulatory Affairs and Research Manager at ASCA, and he's on to give us all an update on the impact of the FTC's latest ban on noncompete agreements. Since the ruling was announced, everyone has been trying to determine how this will impact surgery centers and the healthcare landscape as a whole, so Alex sheds some light on the basics of the ruling, how it applies to non-profit entities, and suggested next steps for ASCs.

In our news recap, we'll cover how the concept of pit crews could help achieve faster and safer OR turnover times, tips for attracting and hiring students fresh out of college, Uber's new offer called Uber Caregiver, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about how AI is helping triage patients in emergency rooms.

Articles Mentioned:

How ‘Pit Crews’ Achieve Faster, Safer Turnovers [https://www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/special-editions/article/how--pit-crews--achieve-faster--safer-turnovers]

Welcome, New Graduates [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/may/welcome-new-graduates]

Uber Health Announces Solution for Caregivers [https://medcitynews.com/2024/05/uber-caregiver-solution/]

AI could help assess patient acuity in emergency departments: study [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/ai-large-languge-models-emergency-department-patient-acuity-jama-network-open/715813/]

ASCA Opposes FTC’s Ban on Noncompete Agreements [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/digital-debut/asca-opposes-ftcs-ban-on-noncompete-agreements]



Brought to you by HST Pathways

Alex Taira – The Impact of the FTC's Ban on Noncompete Agreements 

Alex Yampolsky is the CEO of MedServe, and he will join us this week to share insights into how you can stop drug diversion at your ASC. Drug diversion is not a topic we’ve covered yet, and I think the work Alex and his team are doing is super important. I’m excited for everyone to hear our conversation and hopefully implement some of Alex’s advice. We cover the most vulnerable areas in an ASC, tools that ASCs are using to help, some red flags to look for, and how to build a culture where staff feel comfortable addressing their concerns with leadership.

After my conversation with Alex, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, we’ll break down the average OR and Recovery Times per specialty. Every minute in the OR and Recovery Area counts, so while patient safety is the number one priority, it’s essential to look at the industry averages to see if you have the opportunity to increase efficiency.

Resources Mentioned:

HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report]

Aromatherapy's Role in Decreasing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34905993/]

Lawsuits Against Yale Mount As More Patients Claim Nurse Stole Pain Medication During ‘Torturous’ Fertility Procedures [https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/10/11/lawsuits-against-yale-mount-as-more-women-claim-nurse-stole-pain-medication-during-torturous-fertility-procedures/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Alex Yampolsky – Stopping Drug Diversion at Your ASC 

If you’re in the ASC industry, then you’re in the right place. Every week our hosts will recap the latest news impacting ASCs, and share an interesting conversation we had with our featured guest. New episodes released every Tuesday!

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