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?”

For this week’s episode, we compiled the most recent responses we’ve had, bringing together the best advice from seven different ASC leaders.

We hope everyone enjoys this round-up of practical, innovative ideas. A huge thank you to our featured guests, in order of appearance:

• BJ DiMartini
• Marsha Diamond
• Kathy Wilson
• David Thawley
• John Brock
• Maura Cash
• Scott Bacon

We are just a few weeks from #ASCA2024 in Orlando! HST has so many fun things planned for the show, so we hope to see you all there. When you swing by our booth (next to ASCA’s at Booth #709), you can take a quiz to win a prize and give all our products a test drive. We also have two sessions for you to add to your agenda:

• Thursday, April 18th: Unleash the Power of Data to Transform Your ASC
• Friday, April 19th: How to Prepare for and Navigate Board-Level Conversations

Learn more & schedule time with HST! https://www.hstpathways.com/asca

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Scott Bacon is the Vice President of Business Development at Compass Surgical Partners, and he’s here to cover how you can successfully convert an HOPD into an ASC. The switch has many benefits, such as market growth, reimbursement differences, physician retention, and high-acuity case migration. Scott will also share how to get started, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to evaluate whether a conversion or a de novo is best.

In our news recap, our first two stories will cover anesthesia – the first is about the current state and issues that ASCs face, and the second is about how one facility avoided closing operating rooms by getting creative with their anesthesia coverage. We’ll then cover the cyberattacks on Change Healthcare and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a woman who became a nurse after being so inspired by the nurses who helped care for her son.

Hope everyone enjoys the episode and here’s what’s going on This Week in Surgery Centers.

Articles Mentioned:

Navigating Current Anesthesia Coverage Challenges

What an ASC did to avoid room shutdowns

Change Healthcare cyberattack having ‘far-reaching’ effects on providers

Mom inspired to become a nurse after son's diagnosis with heart defects

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

One of our favorite returning guests, Maura Cash, is here today to talk about OAS-CAHPS. There is a ton of OAS-CAHPS coverage right now across the industry, given the 2025 mandated deadline, but we'll cover a new angle with Maura: how you can proactively improve your scores before they become public by properly training your staff.

After my conversation with Maura, we'll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, we'll break down the average Patient Deposit Collection Rates that surgery centers are experiencing, and then I'll share some tips for how you can improve those collection rates.

Resources Mentioned:

Download HST’s State of the Industry Report to get your hands on even more data: https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

John Brock is the Co-Founder, President, and COO of SurgNet Health Partners, and he joins us this week to talk through The Blueprint for Building an ASC Management Group. John takes us through the whole process, starting with market analysis and securing funding, all the way through operating at peak efficiency, managing metrics, and emerging trends to consider.

In our news recap, we’ll cover the most controversial issues in orthopedics right now, the growing colonoscopy boom, Hartford Healthcare’s new Center for AI Innovation, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about hospital proposals.

Articles Mentioned:

The most controversial issues in orthopedics

The Growing Colonoscopy Boom: Secrets of Top-Performing GI Centers

Hartford HealthCare Opens Center for AI Innovation

Hospital Marriage Proposals: The Good, the Bad, the Helipad

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

David Thawley is the CEO of HST Pathways, and he is on the podcast today to talk about the idea of proactive operations, detailing how, by building a culture of proactive operations, your surgery center will be able to thrive in this new world for ASCs. Running a surgery center is different from what it was ten years ago or even five years ago, so pivoting to efficient, data-driven, proactive operations is a necessary game-changer. And the ones that have shifted are seeing great success. So, Dave shares some great insight as to how you can begin down this path toward proactive operations.

After my conversation with Dave, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, we’ll break down the Average Net Revenue Per Case, specifically looking at the top 5 specialties. Then, we’ll share ten tips for improving your average net revenue per case if you’re not happy with your current numbers.

Resources Mentioned:

Download HST’s State of the Industry Report to get your hands on even more data: https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

In this episode, we will dive into nine noteworthy news stories that have been making waves in the ever-evolving surgery center industry. We’ll bounce between industry trends, clinical trends, articles looking back at 2023, and articles looking ahead to what 2024 will bring. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Ozempic could be good for orthopedic surgeons

Medicare Introduces New ASC Procedure Request Process

10 ways ASCs can counteract rising supply costs

HIPAA Biannual Update

Why GIs aren't dropping Medicare patients

HST Pathways Ranked #1 in the 2024 Best in KLAS: Software & Services Report

Fulfillment and Frustration: Medscape Nurse Career Satisfaction Report 2023

Joint Commission, AAAHC Experts Offer Simple Hacks to Improve Accreditation Surveys

Iowa Hospice Nurse Tiffany McArdle Walks Through Blizzard to Reach Patient

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Running a surgery center is extremely challenging, and one element that adds to the challenge is collecting, aggregating, and reporting on quality measures. While there are many measures to stay on top of, Kathy Wilson, the Executive Director at the ASC Quality Collaboration, is on today to talk about the measure “Wrong Site, Wrong Side, Wrong Patient, Wrong Procedure, Wrong Implant.” A few weeks ago, we sourced questions from all of you for Kathy to answer, so we covered topics such as best practices for collecting the data, how to make sure you’re not over-reporting or under-reporting, the importance of benchmarking, and everything in between.

After our conversation with Kathy, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, we’ll cover OR block time, and take a look at the amount of blocked OR time that remains unused, and how you can overcome this challenge.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit the ASCQC’s website for free benchmarking and toolkits: https://www.ascquality.org/home

Download HST’s State of the Industry Report to get your hands on even more data: https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Marsha Diamond is the Director of Coding Solutions at Aideo Technologies, and we had the opportunity to talk with her about how AI can be used to reduce payor denials. There is a ton of AI talk going on, and it can feel overwhelming trying to understand what it is and how it can be woven into our lives, but Marsha did a great job breaking it down for us. We covered how AI can be used to avoid the most common causes for denials, which of course, would ultimately help you increase speed to revenue. We also chatted about the accuracy of AI and challenges you may face.

In our news recap, we’ll cover nimble’s new CEO, Kelley Blair, the cybersecurity threats that medical devices may impose, how ASCs can benefit from physician burnout at hospitals, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about six sisters going through nursing school together.

Articles Mentioned:

• nimble solutions Appoints New CEO
• Medical devices could be hacked next, officials fear
• Physicians are fed up — and ASCs may have an edge
• The Lawrence Sisters Purse Dream of Becoming Nurses Together

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

BJ DiMartini is the CEO of Excel Health, and he has been working hard to open new surgery centers in Hawaii and Washington. But BJ and his team are doing things a little differently – they are building their facilities with a true concierge approach and leaning into the growing trend around medical tourism. BJ shared the specialties they will offer, how he’s sourcing physicians and attracting patients, the potential challenges they will face, and everything in between.

After our conversation with BJ, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. Today, we’ll cover case cancellation rates, including the average cancellation rate that ASCs are experiencing, tips for preventing cancellations, and how to identify trends and improve your rates.

Studies/Reports Mentioned:

• Contributing factors of elective surgical case cancellation
• Global prevalence and reasons for case cancellation on the intended day of surgery
• State of the Industry Report

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

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?"

For this week’s episode, we compiled the most recent responses we’ve had, bringing together the best advice from 11 different ASC leaders.

We hope everyone enjoys this round-up of practical, innovative ideas. A huge thank you to our featured guests, in order of appearance:

• Maura Cash
• Gavin Fabian
• Betsy Grunch
• Michael McClain
• Beata Canby
• Gregory DeConciliis
• Katie Sypher
• Mike Tompkins
• Joan Dentler
• Hilary Sondik
• Nader Samii

Brought to you by HST Pathways.