Two spine surgeons discuss the most frustrating aspects of maintaining independent practice in an increasingly consolidated healthcare landscape.
Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses.
Next week's question: What is the most frustrating aspect of hospital employment?
Please send responses to Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com by Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 5 p.m. CST.
Question: What is the most frustrating aspect of independent practice?
Richard Kube, MD, Founder, CEO, Prairie Spine & Pain Institute, Peoria, Ill.: I would say it is now adding physicians to the practice. Hospitals are offering incredible contracts to new grads, who are essentially unproven commodities. Difficulty in adding volume also makes it more difficult to procure and retain contracts with payers. We are also seeing what I perceive as somewhat restrictive posturing by the hospital-owned physician groups. It is also frustrating to hit a wall when negotiating ambulatory services with a payer. They are so behind in their understanding if what is possible now with minimally invasive surgery, it feels like you are explaining a Bic lighter to someone in the 1500s, very frustrating when the advantages are so obvious.
Michael Roh, MD, Co-Founder, Rockford (Ill.) Spine Center: My partners and I enjoy and prefer being an independent spine practice as we are efficiently able to provide excellent patient outcomes and consistently top-notch quality of care compared to healthcare systems that are challenged with physician turnover and financially driven decisions which may negatively impact the patient experience.
In fact, in order for independent practices to survive and advance, they must provide superior care and enjoy a solid reputation, such that word-of-mouth ensures continued growth. It is important that hospitals recognize that it is in their best interests to work with a well-established independent practice, like ours, which has already minimized care-related expenses by shortening hospital stay, avoiding expensive biologic agents, minimizing operative times and the need for blood recycling, and utilizing reasonably priced spinal implants.
We continually encourage health systems to recognize successful independent spine practices for what they are and the benefits they bring to the table, and to find a way to partner with them in a mutually beneficial manner toward the common goal of achieving the best possible patient outcomes.