In this episode, Benita Tapia, Administrator & Director of Nursing at Beverly Hills ASC, joins Alex — along with Conor McGinn, CEO of Akara — to unpack how she’s using AI to improve everyday operations: tightening block utilization and surgeon accountability, speeding turnovers, answering scheduling questions in real time, and boosting registration accuracy to cut preventable denials. We also cover the guardrails — privacy, policy, and a human in the loop — that keep these tools safe and useful.

In our data segment, we look at Otolaryngology benchmarks from nearly 112,000 cases across 202 centers. OR block utilization sits around 46%; net revenue per case is up 26% ($2,981 to $3,765); deposits slipped, and denials ticked up while days to bill improved. We highlight trends to watch, and simple steps leaders can take now to tighten collections, curb denials, and move closer to that 70% utilization goal.

Resources mentioned:

HST Pathways State of the Industry Report

HST Pathways Otolaryngology Benchmark Report

Brought to you by HST Pathways.