At the 20th Annual Spine, Orthopedic + Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference, attendees were eager to learn about how ASCs can succeed in the new era of value-based care.
An expert panel of speakers was assembled to discuss best practices for navigating the complexities of the healthcare system and emerging payment models.
The panel for this session included Timothy Ekpo, MD, an Orthopedic Surgeon from Henry Ford Hospital; Ravi Bashyal, MD, Vice Chair of Patient and Provider Experience and Director of Outpatient Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery from North Shore University Health System and Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine; William Evans, Vice President of Surgical Services and Orthopedics at Allina Health; Aaron M. Chamberlain MD, MSc, MBA, an Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and Associate Medical Director of the High-Value Care Models in the Musculoskeletal Clinical Program at Intermountain Healthcare; and Matt Kilton, Partner at ECG Management Consultants. The session was moderated by Brian Zimmerman, Assistant Vice President of Client Content and Strategy at Becker’s Healthcare.
Key Takeaways:
- Value-based care is still in its infancy and there are challenges for independent surgery centers to measure value.
Value-based care is a relatively new concept in healthcare, and independent surgery centers face challenges in measuring the value of their services. This means that it is important for ASCs to develop ways to assess the value of their care in order to thrive in a value-based world. - ASCs can partner with other organizations to help them bend the cost curve, even if they lack the clout of larger organizations.
Although ASCs may not have as much negotiating power as larger organizations, they can still succeed under value-based care by partnering with other organizations that have value-based care contracts in order to lower costs. For example, Intermountain Healthcare was able to negotiate lower device and implant rates by aligning with cost of care and sharing data with providers over a long period of time. - Robotic technology is an emerging technology in the ASC setting that could help with certain procedures.
ASCs could potentially use robotic technology to improve the quality and efficiency of their care. It is important for ASCs to identify which resources are underutilized and which are overutilized in order to make informed decisions about technology investments. Additionally, sharing data across surgeons in an identifiable way can help drive better performance. - There are opportunities for independent ASCs to create partnerships and seek out financial risk when contracting with insurance companies.
ASCs can work with insurance companies to develop creative ways to create pathways with patients and lower costs. It is important for ASCs to develop detailed data streams on costs and utilization in order to identify opportunities for improvement. Additionally, volume commitments and tiering price structures can be used to create financial incentives for insurance companies to work with ASCs.