Keith Smith, MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist, serves as co-founder and chief medical director at Surgery Center of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, a multispecialty surgery center that offers orthopedics, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, plastics and urology services.
Dr. Smith earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he also completed his residency. He went on to complete a fellowship in anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Smith has pioneered new programs at the surgery center that focus on increasing access to affordable healthcare. Three years ago, Dr. Smith posted prices for more than 100 procedures performed at the surgery center with the intention of creating competition with other local providers and driving down healthcare costs.
In addition, the Surgery Center of Oklahoma offers a cash-pay program designed to attract and accommodate patients without insurance or with high-deductible plans.
“I think as the effects of ObamaCare begin to play out, we will see a skyrocketing of medical costs,” Dr. Smith said. “The costs are going to be very high and the premiums for insurance will be high, but surgery centers with a cash-pay program can intercept some of those patients with low costs that are transparent and fair. The ability to embrace the free market and adopt a model like this has a much greater change of being successful than facilities that sign a lot of insurance contracts, go in-network and deal with government payors.”
