our facility."
• Cutting-edge surgery. St. Cloud's surgeons and anesthesia
providers use multimodal pain management, including the latest
regional block techniques, to get patients up and moving soon after
surgery and ready for same-day discharge. The center also invested in
robotic-guided navigation, which differentiates St. Cloud from the
competition by helping surgeons perform partial knee replacements, a
technically demanding procedure.
• Managing bundled payments. Insurers are interested in making a
single bundled payment to joint programs that take on the risk and
reward of managing the entire episode of care, which begins the day sur-
gery is scheduled and ends 90 days after discharge. "More and more
insurers are motivated to find ways to reduce healthcare costs," says Ms.
Nagorski. "The bundled payment model for outpatient total joints is per-
fectly aligned with that goal."
She understands how to manage expensive elements of the episode
of care by working with vendors to reduce the costs of implants,
keeping labor costs low while making sure staff can deliver safe care
and partnering with cost-effective rehab providers. Her team will also
discuss the importance of optimizing all aspects of the episode of care
to avoid the costs associated with treating unplanned complications
and to increase profits achieved through excellent outcomes.
"Surgeons want to avoid hospitalizing their patients unnecessarily,"
says Ms. Nagorski. "The specialty is a good revenue stream that diver-
sifies your orthopedic offerings. It's ultimately an efficient and cost-
effective way to meet a growing clinical need in a way that improves
the patient experience."
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