In today's episode, we bring you part 2 of our 3-part series on Evaluating Ownership Options. Last week, we explored working with a Management Services Organization (MSO), and today, we're diving into the benefits of selling a minority share. Jeff Peo from Lifeline joins host Nick Latz to break down the typical ownership split, how it impacts physician autonomy, the financial advantages, and more.

After the conversation with Jeff, we'll shift to the fourth installment of our AI segment. So far, we've explored how generative AI can streamline tasks like staff scheduling, writing patient education materials, improving your website, analyzing data, and presenting findings to your board. Today, we'll go a step further and discuss how you can use Custom GPTs to amplify the impact of AI on your day-to-day operations. Think of it as having a super-smart assistant available 24/7 tailored to your work. We'll walk you through creating one and highlight three practical scenarios where it can make a big difference.

Resources Mentioned:

Lifeline’s Two-Phase Sale Model [https://www.hstpathways.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Lifeline-Two-Phase-Sale-Model.pdf]



Steps to Create Your Own CustomGPT:

 1. Go to ChatGPT and log in. You must have the paid version to create a Custom GPT.
 2. Click Explore.
 3. Click the black Create button.
 4. Click the Configure tab.
 5. Enter your instructions and upload your documents.
 6. Click Save.
 7. Click Confirm.



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Jeff Peo – Evaluating Ownership Options: Selling a Minority Stake 

James Calligan, President of Phoenix Gynecology Consultants, will kick off our new three-part series about Evaluating Ownership Options today. James runs a Management Services Organization, better known as an MSO, which provides all types of support to its ASC clients. We’re always talking about ASCs that are either independently owned or owned by a management company, but this third option might be an excellent fit for ASCs out there looking for a middle alternative.

In our news recap, we’ll cover top healthcare trends executives are watching, the new partnership between ChristianaCare and Atlas Healthcare Partners, talk through some staffing projections, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a 15-year-old boy who was named Time’s Kid of the Year for his latest invention.

Articles Mentioned:

Top Healthcare Trends of 2024: What Executives Are Watching [https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/ceo/top-healthcare-trends-2024-what-executives-are-watching]

ChristianaCare and Atlas Healthcare Partners to Develop ASC Network [https://news.christianacare.org/2024/08/christianacare-and-atlas-healthcare-partners-to-develop-ambulatory-surgery-center-network/]

Healthcare labor shortage predicted by 2028, with uneven state impacts: report [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/healthcare-worker-shortage-2028/725865/]

The teen who’s developing a treatment for skin cancer, one bar of soap at a time  [https://www.positive.news/society/teen-developing-treatment-skin-cancer-one-bar-of-soap-at-a-time/]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

James Calligan – Evaluating Ownership Options: A Deep Dive into MSOs 

Today is the third and final part of our three-part series on how you can optimize the physician experience. Dr. Justo covered the importance of encouraging your doctors to learn new procedures, Lindsay Schulte covered how to ensure you're fully aligned with your doctor's preferences, and Janet Carlson joined us on this episode to discuss improving communication and collaboration. Janet is the Executive Director of ASCs at Commonwealth Pain and Spine, and they have roughly 22 doctors, so she shared tips for removing some common barriers, technology's role, and how they do things at Commonwealth.

After my conversation with Janet, we'll wrap up the episode with the third installment of our AI segment. We've covered ways you can use generative AI to create staff schedules, write patient education materials, handle the heavy lifting when writing post-op instructions, improve your website, and manage your social media content. Today, we'll take it one step further and look at five ways you can use AI to help you analyze data, spot trends, and present your findings to your board or stakeholders.

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Janet Carlson – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Communication and Collaboration 

Last week, we kicked off our “Optimizing the Physician Experience” series with Dr. Justo, who covered the importance of encouraging your docs to learn new procedures. Today, for part 2 of the series, we are joined by Lindsay Schulte, the Division Vice President of ASCs at EyeCare Partners. EyeCare Partners has over 300 doctors across their 31 ASCs, so Lindsay knows a thing or two about managing the physician experience. She shares with us today how ASCs can align with physician preferences, including scheduling, equipment, supplies, preference cards, and more.

In our news recap, we’ll cover how data can play a role in securing anesthesia services, the latest tech trends that are transforming outpatient care, unexpectedly high medical bills, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a nurse who adopted her patient’s cat and was able to reunite them ten years later.

Articles Mentioned:

Collect Data to Secure Anesthesia Services [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/august/collect-data-to-secure-anesthesia-services]

Tech Trends That Are Transforming Outpatient Care [https://www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/special-editions/article/tech-trends-that-are-transforming-outpatient-care]

How to Get Relief From Unexpectedly High Medical Bills [https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2024-08-12/how-to-get-relief-from-unexpectedly-high-medical-bills]

Cat-tastic Reunion: Nurse’s 10-Year Promise Reunites Beloved Papa Bear Back to Patients [https://dailynurse.com/cat-tastic-reunion-arianna-graziadei-10-year-promise-reunites/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Lindsay Schulte – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Aligning with Physician Preferences 

Today kicks off a new, three-part series on the podcast about Optimizing the Physician Experience. We spend most of our time talking about the patient experience and patient satisfaction, and rightly so, but keeping your docs happy is incredibly important, too. So, for our first discussion, I am joined by Dr. Emilio Justo. Dr. Justo is currently the Medical Director at the Arizona Eye Institute & Cosmetic Laser Center and a well-known speaker and teacher. As a physician, Dr. Justo shares some great insights into what physicians are looking for. Then, we spent most of our time talking about the benefits of encouraging your doctors to learn new procedures and how you can create an environment that promotes continuous learning and skill development.

After talking with Dr. Justo, we’ll wrap up the episode with the second installment of our brand-new AI segment. Like last week, I’ll walk you through a few safe and free ways to start using AI at your surgery center today, focusing on how you can use AI to improve your website and social media presence.

Check out Dr. Justo’s latest book, The Power of Pause: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4JH7VPL [https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_dp_B0D4JH7VPL&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=9rK4RHUCm_KZZssIea6LBLvlZ1AATQey_nFNilK_E2Q&m=u_rE_JeCtAmXfQdCybqXEPQYL4k0BYE_MEdM-_3bPF_ti00Ah6B5HwWIJ-hccCnE&s=rAw7XV9w_VDS0N9hha3xbLpCOI1clL9Cajuq5-avIx4&e=]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Dr. Justo – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Learning New Procedures 

Today is the third and final part of our three-episode series on Expanding Your ASC. We’ve covered how to bring on new physicians, add new specialties, and add a new operating room. I had the opportunity to sit down with Greg DeConciliis to talk about the expansion project he’s working on. Greg’s team realized a few years ago that they had outgrown their current 3-OR facility, so they are building an 8-OR facility a few miles down the road, and they are on track to open in January 2025. So we talked about how he knew it was time, financing, finding contractors, challenges and learnings, and everything in between.

After my conversation with Greg, we will end the episode with a new segment. I usually try to rotate between sharing the latest news and sharing helpful data points, but I thought it would be good to add a new segment around Using AI at Your ASC. It can be really tricky to know you can start using AI today, especially if it’s a subject you are a bit wary of or just haven’t had a lot of exposure to. So stay tuned until the end, and I’ll walk you through three safe and free ways to start using AI today.

Previous “Expanding Your ASC” episodes:

 * Michael McClain – Expanding Your ASC: Bringing on New Surgeons + Specialties
 * Bruce Johnstone – Expanding Your ASC: Adding an OR



ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Gregory DeConciliis – Expanding Your ASC: From Concept to Completion 

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 

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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