AI agents have moved quickly from pilot to production in orthopedic operations, but adoption alone says little about returns. The harder question for operational leaders is which deployments are actually moving the needle on revenue, cost and capacity — and which are quietly stalling on top of legacy workflows.
During a featured session at Becker’s 23rd Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC + The Future of Spine Conference, Geoffrey Martin, president of Magical, shared real-world lessons from automating orthopedic operations with AI agents: what works, what breaks and where organizations see the biggest impact first. Drawing on 15 years of experience in healthcare AI, he walked through how leaders can separate durable automation from hype.
Note: Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
1. Know the difference between agentic AI and rebranded RPA
A common issue Mr. Martin sees is vendors marketing legacy automation as something it isn’t. Many companies are “selling the vision of agentic without RPA,” he said, and a great deal of what’s on the market is older robotic process automation wearing an agentic label.
He pointed to a recent engagement in which Magical took over for a project that had stalled after an earlier vendor fell short of an aggressive implementation timeline. The broader lesson for buyers, he argued, is to insist on transparency — being able to see the system actually working and understand the underlying models before committing.
In orthopedic operations, where staff often navigate payer portals, referrals, authorizations and eligibility workflows across disconnected systems, Mr. Martin argued that many vendors still rely on brittle automation that struggles when workflows change.
2. Buy a platform, not a point solution — and put it in the contract
Most organizations need more than a single-task tool, Mr. Martin said, and should look for a platform capable of handling many use cases rather than a one-off point solution. Just as important is how the deal is structured.
Mr. Martin encouraged buyers to look beyond technical capabilities and evaluate how vendors share accountability for outcomes. He suggested contracts should include clear performance commitments, measurable business objectives and mechanisms for remediation if results fall short.
3. Start where ROI is high and difficulty is low
Sequencing matters as much as selection. Mr. Martin cautioned that the high-difficulty, high-return projects organizations are often tempted to tackle first are also the riskiest.
His preferred entry point is the opposite corner of that matrix — high-return, low-difficulty work that can demonstrate value quickly before teams take on more complex automation. For orthopedic operations weighing where to begin, that means resisting the urge to lead with the hardest problem.
4. Plan now for workforce dislocation
Mr. Martin predicted that AI would significantly reduce the need for manual administrative work over the next five years, requiring organizations to rethink workforce planning and redeployment strategies. He projected that there could be as much as a 30% to 50% reduction in administrative roles over the next five years.
The opportunity, he argued, is redeployment rather than simple elimination — moving people from “soul-crushing tasks to better careers,” particularly given persistent staffing shortages elsewhere in healthcare.
What leaders should watch next
Mr. Martin’s through-line was discipline over hype: scrutinize what’s actually under the hood, structure contracts so vendors share the risk, sequence deployments to bank early wins and plan deliberately for the human transition.
For orthopedic organizations navigating growing patient volumes, staffing constraints and increasing payer complexity, the question is no longer whether AI will play a role in operations. The question is whether deployments can consistently deliver measurable business outcomes at scale.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.