Michael Boblitz, CEO of Tallahassee (Fla.) Orthopedic Clinic, is moving on from his role, and says he's leaving the practice in better shape than when he started there in 2021.
Effective Feb. 3, Mr. Boblitz will be CEO of Athens (Ga.) Orthopedic Clinic.
Transforming TOC
His tenure with TOC is one defined by growth and overcoming challenging odds. Mr. Boblitz joined TOC from a chief strategy role at Gwinnett Health System in Atlanta. When he moved to the Tallahassee market, he said the biggest differences were a smaller population of 500,000 and less desire for economic development.
So an initial goal was anchored by a single number - 1 million.
"I knew pretty quickly that we needed to get to a broader market and broader footprint to reach one million lives," he told Becker's. "That started with initially investing in Panama City, which has about 500,000 lives. But unlike the greater Tallahassee market, Panama City is really focused on economic development. They're doing a really good job with tax incentives to bring in new business. There's also a military component. The General Air Force Base is going through massive redevelopment and expansion, so it's really a good place to be."
TOC in 2024 marked its second anniversary in that market, and most orthopedic specialties are covered in Panama City, except for trauma and hand surgery, Mr. Boblitz said. There are also plans for the practice to expand into Panama City Beach nearby.
Within Tallahassee, Mr. Boblitz also transformed capacity constraint issues in his time at the practice. His approach was to connect and seek ways to improve. One of the key connections was with the CEO of Capital Health Plan, a Blue Cross affiliate, and the question he asked was "How can TOC be better?"
"We're a 50-year-old organization which is amazing, and it's such a privilege to have an organization that's been around that long," Mr. Boblitz said. "But sometimes when you're around 50 years you may lose touch and get stuck in the status quo environment."
A solution that came out of those conversations was expanding MRI capacity at TOC, including the purchase of a second unit. And Mr. Boblitz doubled TOC's orthotics and prosthetics center thanks to conversations with other leaders.
Under Mr. Boblitz's leadership, TOC opened a second outpatient therapy office in Tallahassee, and invested in a Mako orthopedic robot. He'll finish his last month with the group with the opening of the TOC Spine and Joint Replacement Surgery Center.
"I could not be any more proud of the many accomplishments with TOC," he said. "It’s been a tremendous journey and I have no further concerns to address as I prepare for my tenure as CEO with Athens Orthopedic Clinic."
Advice for orthopedic leaders in 2025
When overseeing an orthopedic group, Mr. Boblitz said there are some crucial data points leaders should keep an eye on including population growth and service demand.
"Going back to the greater-Atlanta market, that's growing three times the U.S. average," he said. "If you're not growing at that rate, that's a headwind. Then you need to look at how you can have a broader geographic footprint."
For monitoring service demand, Mr. Boblitz recommended leveraging a claims data service.
"You can look at, for example, all the orthopedic surgery cases that occur across all settings and then look at your market position and how much more upside you might get. In greater Tallahassee, because our markets are small and we're a large practice, there wasn't a whole lot of upside in most areas. But we did have a lot of upside in spine surgery."
Mr. Boblitz said practice leaders should also look at ways to minimize "leakage" in finances and have most or all services within the company so patients have continuity of care. This strategy is also helpful in cushioning against challenges with Medicare reimbursement.
"Unlike hospitals who have inflation built into their contracts … it's the opposite in private practice," he said.
Mr. Boblitz, who designed and taught a healthcare management course at Tallahassee-based Florida State University, said he explains practice strategy similar to how Starbucks grew as a business.
"Why did Starbucks get into offering lunch and breakfast? Because there's competition and there's challenges," he said. "It's the same thing in orthopedics. There's only so many cups of coffee you can sell. You need alternative income sources to offset the headwinds of Medicare paying less and Blue Cross paying the same."