Over the last year Philadelphia-based Rothman Orthopaedic Institute has come back from significant financial headwinds.
Earlier this year Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, said that in the first half of 2024, the practice treated 470,000 patients and performed over 35,000 surgeries.
Dr. Vaccaro revisited with Becker's to talk about key decisions that helped the practice and how he's thinking about the future.
Note: This conversation was lightly edited for clarity.
Question: How has Rothman's margins improved so far in 2024, and how are you feeling looking into 2025?
Dr. Alex Vaccaro: I'm happy to say that we rebounded well from a difficult financial year in 2023. We were challenged last year with the same head winds that faced all private practice groups such as the cost of capital, inflation, staffing shortages, stagnant reimbursement and medicare cuts. This year following restructuring and cost cutting we have been able to get back to pre-COVID-19 financial health.
Q: Can you expand on the strategies that have helped besides layoffs?
AV: The two greatest financial strains for any healthcare provider system are labor costs and bricks and mortar. We as a group had to make many difficult cost cutting decisions. We reorganized our C-suite and learned to do more with less. We exploited technology to lessen our reliance on labor and became much more efficient in revenue cycle management using advanced AI tools. We are exploring new ways to use artificial intelligence to continue to lower labor cost and improve patient engagement, contract negotiations and billing and collecting.
Q: Now that you're nearing normal financial levels, how are you thinking about growth in 2025?
AV: Our focus for 2025 is to strengthen our infrastructure, ensuring we're well prepared to seize the right opportunities for growth when they arise. By investing in operations, we"re positioning ourselves for sustainable growth that aligns with our mission and values.