Dr. Poletti is the founder of Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based Southeastern Spine Institute, an 11-physician group that has served patients for more than 30 years.
The practice joined Novant in January, and Dr. Poletti spoke with Becker’s about why the affiliation was right for him.
Note: This conversation was lightly edited.
Question: Can you tell me a little bit more about your practice and what sparked the move to partner with Novant?
Dr. Steven Poletti: Novant Healthcare has made a substantial inroads into the South Carolina medical marketplace. In the past year, they acquired East Cooper Regional Medical Center, the hospital where Southeastern Spine Institute admits most of its inpatient spine surgery patients. They also acquired a portion of the ambulatory surgery center that we also are a party to. So it just made sense for us to further explore that partnership with Novant in that they’re the managers of the hospital we do most of our work at, they co-manage the same ambulatory surgery center where we do all of our outpatient surgery, and beyond that, there’s a commitment that they have toward developing orthopedic and Spine Center of Excellence, and the orthopedists that are part of that.
Q: Were there any other health systems that you were considering?
SP: We certainly had our eyes on Novant once they acquired the hospital. We’re like any group in that we’ve had formal and informal discussions with virtually all the area hospitals. We’ve had multiple inroads into something like this, but they’re the first group that we’re partnering with.
Q: Other independent spine and orthopedic practices have joined an MSO or merged with other practices as forms consolidation. Was that ever a consideration?
SP: I think that both are reasonable things to look into. We just felt that being part of the Novant health system made the most sense with the commitment that they had toward not just taking over the hospital, but acquiring interest in the surgery center as well. We’re able to partner with them not just with our inpatient work, but with our outpatient work as well.
Q: Can you talk about just some of the other opportunities you’re really excited about looking ahead this year, and then any challenges you’re anticipating with this new relationship?
SP: The major thing we’re excited about is getting a wider referral base, working with our orthopedic surgery partners more closely, and creating a spine and orthopedic institute in Mount Pleasant and grow from there.
Q: What are some of the spine and healthcare trends that are exciting you the most?
SP: The most exciting healthcare trend in spine surgery is the transition to outpatient surgery. Most spine groups are dependent on a hospital. A big portion of the inpatient work that we do is at East Cooper hospital, and having the same hospital partners be the same partners that you have in the ambulatory surgery center really streamlines care.
