How Healthcare Reform Will Impact Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management ASCs

At the 11th Annual Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference on June 14, a panel of spine leaders discussed trends and challenges for spine surgery going forward in a keynote session titled “What Will Healthcare Reform Mean for Orthopedics, Spine, Pain Management and ASCs?”

The panel featured James Lynch, MD, FRCSI, FAANS, of Spine Nevada; Luke Lambert, CFA, CASC, chief executive officer of Ambulatory Surgery Centers of America; and Nick Shamie, MD, of UCLA Spine Surgery. Forrest Sawyer moderated the session.All panelists provided different takes on whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will help or hurt healthcare in general.

Something had to be done about the failing healthcare system in the U.S., Dr. Shamie said. No one is sure exactly how the legislation will impact the cost of care, but it’s a “good effort” toward moving in the right direction, he said.

It’s attractive that PPACA will provide subsidies and benefits to previously uncovered segments of society, Mr. Lambert said. However, he does not believe the law will come close to meetings its primary objective of cutting costs.

As the legislation attempts to tackle healthcare inefficiencies and contain costs, it may also require physicians to become more business-savvy.

“Business people are doing the work because they want to make money,” Dr. Shamie said. “Our primary goal has always been patient care. It’s taboo to talk about the business of medicine. It will take a change of paradigm of future healthcare providers to change the system.”

Healthcare reform will create a growing need and opportunity to provide ambulatory care. Smaller ASCs that are nimble and able to shift with environment will be the most successful, he said. Care also needs to become less fragmented where patients know what paradigm to follow to get the proper care.

“Patients don’t always go through the right channels,” Dr. Lynch said. “They look for tests themselves and receive unnecessary tests. They don’t follow any treatment paradigms. There’s no education in this [law] at all.”

Mr. Lambert also believes that cost containment will become near impossible as an influx of new patients flood healthcare providers and facilities. Subsidies will drive costs dramatically, and the legislation is setting up the industry for more government-dominated care when cost containment goals fail, he said.

He also suggested partnering with hospitals rather than competing with them for greater long-term security. However, Dr. Shamie said, it may not be the best time to move to a hospital partnership since it’s a trend at the moment. Instead, he said, focus on talking about business and medicine together, stay education and try to be at the forefront of the healthcare system as it changes.