At the 11th Annual Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference on June 14, a panel of experts discussed the future of the spine industry in a keynote session titled “The Healthcare, Spine and Orthopedic Economy: Is the future bright or dark? How do you position yourself?” Panelists Frank Phillips, MD, at Rush University Medical Center; Tom Mallon, founder and CEO of Regent Surgical Health; and John Peloza, MD, director at the Center for Spine Care, talked about hospital employment trends, financial incentives and more. Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large of FORTUNE Magazine, moderated the session.
Hospital employment may be a trend for physicians currently, but it is not sustainable, Dr. Peloza said. ASCs are not becoming the mainstay for spine surgery because of the flawed market system in which the U.S.’s healthcare industry exists. It’s not a free or efficient market, he said. It’s a government-regulated market.
“Insurers are paying for spine surgeries and driving them to hospital,” he said. “They are already denying fusions, and they will deny everything else too. Now we enter into a free market system where patients have to pay for care. What’s the market going to bear?”
Healthcare services would be more rational in a free market, Dr. Peloza argued, and costs would be driven by what people would be able to pay. Meanwhile, to survive in the current economic climate, healthcare providers must provide the best quality that everybody knows about and maintain a price structure to deliver care people can afford.
Hospital employment is also being driven by physicians unable to survive in independent practices. Health systems are working closely with payers, who make it difficult for ASCs to thrive. And the government is making electronic medical record and reform requirements that are too expensive for many small orthopedic practices.
“All of these factors are making it hard for independent physicians to survive and control costs,” Dr. Phillips said. “The problem is going to happen when orthopedic surgeons get into arrangements that are great on the front end. Four or five years later when it doesn’t work out [with the hospital], you have no option. You can’t regain your practice.”
The future for independent spine and orthopedic groups may be uncertain, so physicians and ASCs should do strategic planning now to have leverage with payers. Surgeons will also need to be:
• Passionate
• Patient-focused
• Researchers
• Driven
• Respected
Hospital employment may be a trend for physicians currently, but it is not sustainable, Dr. Peloza said. ASCs are not becoming the mainstay for spine surgery because of the flawed market system in which the U.S.’s healthcare industry exists. It’s not a free or efficient market, he said. It’s a government-regulated market.
“Insurers are paying for spine surgeries and driving them to hospital,” he said. “They are already denying fusions, and they will deny everything else too. Now we enter into a free market system where patients have to pay for care. What’s the market going to bear?”
Healthcare services would be more rational in a free market, Dr. Peloza argued, and costs would be driven by what people would be able to pay. Meanwhile, to survive in the current economic climate, healthcare providers must provide the best quality that everybody knows about and maintain a price structure to deliver care people can afford.
Hospital employment is also being driven by physicians unable to survive in independent practices. Health systems are working closely with payers, who make it difficult for ASCs to thrive. And the government is making electronic medical record and reform requirements that are too expensive for many small orthopedic practices.
“All of these factors are making it hard for independent physicians to survive and control costs,” Dr. Phillips said. “The problem is going to happen when orthopedic surgeons get into arrangements that are great on the front end. Four or five years later when it doesn’t work out [with the hospital], you have no option. You can’t regain your practice.”
The future for independent spine and orthopedic groups may be uncertain, so physicians and ASCs should do strategic planning now to have leverage with payers. Surgeons will also need to be:
• Passionate
• Patient-focused
• Researchers
• Driven
• Respected