This Week in Surgery Centers

How ASC Sale-Leasebacks Work

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Vick is the Founder and Principal of ASC Realty Advisors, where he has spent decades advising physicians and ASC operators on healthcare real esta...

Inside the ASC Deal Process: From LOI to Close

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Stephanie Tarry brings more than three decades of experience in the ASC industry. Now with Physician Transaction Advisors, she works closely with phys...

Ep. 139 – Dr. Leo Spector: The Power Shift After CON Reform

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Leo Spector, MD, MBA, is the CEO of OrthoCarolina, where he leads strategy across a growing network of ASCs while continuing to practice...

Preparing for a Transaction and Valuating Your ASC

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Freund is the Managing Partner at Physician Transaction Advisors, where he and his team have spent more than 20 years advising physician-owned sur...

How Anesthesia Costs Reshape ASC Growth

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Anesthesia costs and staffing pressures are reshaping ASC operations. In this episode, Garrison Gordon and Cory Hollmann break down shifting...

Patient Payments: Workflow Best Practices for Maximizing Collections

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Patient payments are getting messier — not always because patients won’t pay, but because the workflow is full of friction, surprises, and missed ...

Patient Payments: Moving from Manual to Modern

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Patient payments don’t have to be complicated. In this week's episode, we kick off our Patient Payments series with a practical guest conversation o...

What to Know About CMS's 2026 Final Rule for ASCs

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve been looking for a clear, ASC-focused breakdown of the 2026 CMS final payment rule, this episode is for you. This week, ASCA’s Chief Adv...

2025 Highlights: 30 Guests on One Thing You Can Do This Week

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you only had time to do one thing this week to improve your surgery center, what should it be? To kick off the countdown to year-end, This Wee...

From Case Costing to Profit Forecasting

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the third installment of our case costing series, HST Pathways’ Chief Innovation Officer, Gavin Fabian, breaks down what “mature” case costin...

Case Costing: Creating a Clean Inventory Master

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, the second installment in our case costing series, Grant Duncan sits down with VMG Health’s Vanessa Sindell and Nancy Step...

The 3 Case Costing Levers: Implants, Supplies & Staffing

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s guest, Melissa Rice, is the administrator at Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Terrace (part of Trinity Health), and the newl...

Live from New York: Perspectives from a Surgeon, an ASC Leader & a Policy Expert

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers conference in Albany, NY (Oct 6-8), this special edition episode brings ...

Who's on Your Schedule? Exploring Demographic Data for ASCs

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Will Evans, Head of Data Science & Insights at HST Pathways, joins us to unpack our new five-and-a-half-year look at how case volume, O...

AI in Action: Improving OR Utilization at Beverly Hills ASC

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Benita Tapia, Administrator & Director of Nursing at Beverly Hills ASC, joins Alex — along with Conor McGinn, CEO of Akara — ...

ASC Market Brief: Policy, People, and the Path to 2026

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Q3 wraps, this episode spotlights the signals that matter for ASC leaders heading into the busiest quarter of the year. We track policy direction, ...

Improving the Patient Experience: Best Practices for Pre-Assessment Workflows

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the final episode of our Improving the Patient Experience series, show co-host Grant Duncan and Marta Shultz, a clinical workflow expert at HST Pa...

Improving the Patient Experience: Gramercy's Patient-First Culture & New York's ASC Momentum

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Flynn, Administrator and Chief Operating Officer at Gramercy Surgery Center and President of the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surg...

Improving the Patient Experience: Clinic and ASC Communication

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Grant Duncan sits down with Katie Sypher, a registered dietitian and healthcare operations leader, and Michael McClain, founder of Le...

Anesthesia: Driving Surgical Volume

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Colleen Ramirez, Chief Administrative Officer at Bone & Joint Surgery Center of Novi, and Dr. Michael Bernard, Director of Anesthesia, join the sh...

Anesthesia: Building an In-House Team

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re joined by Wes Battiste, an experienced anesthesiologist and ASC developer, to talk about a growing trend: surgery centers building ...

The CMS 2026 Proposed Payment Rule for ASCs

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Taira from ASCA breaks down the key takeaways from CMS's 2026 Proposed Payment Rule for ASCs. From reimbursement rates to the ASC Covered Procedu...

Maximizing OR Utilization in Ortho ASCs

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, ASC expert Carol Hiatt joins us to share practical tips for improving OR utilization in orthopedic surgery centers. With over 30 years in t...

The 8-Step Software Evaluation Checklist

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Turner is the Sr. VP of IT & Analytics at HealthCrest Surgical Management. He has been in IT for over 30 years and has been through the soft...

Highlight Reel – 15 Tips to Improve Your Surgery Center

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of every discussion, we always ask our guests, “What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?” For...

ASCA Session Recap: Advanced Financial Strategies

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Will Evans, HST’s Senior Director of Data Science and Insights, is fresh off presenting Advanced Financial Strategies at last month’s ASCA confere...

Smarter Credentialing Strategies

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nyleen Flores, CEO of MedElevate, and Shannen Reyes, President of Advanced Quality Compliance, are joining us today. With decades of experience betwee...

Behind the Scenes of Opening an ASC

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Rudd recently opened Knoxville Spine Surgery Center, his first time leading the launch of a brand-new facility. I sat down with Josh to hear what...

Improving Profitability: Reducing Days in AR

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re continuing our series on Improving Profitability. Last week, Melanie Howitt shared how AI and automation can improve your ability to collect o...

Improving Profitability: Automating Claim Adjudication

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re kicking off a brand-new three-part series on Improving Profitability at Your ASC. First up: Melanie Howitt, Transition and Implementation Mana...

A Comprehensive Look at ASC Data from 2024

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

HST CEO David Thawley recently joined ASCA’s podcast to discuss key ASC trends in 2024—from rising specializations and OR efficiencies to new RCM ...

Life Safety: What Admins Need to Know

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s guest is Richard Parker, Associate Director of Life Safety & Physical Environment at ACHC—the Accreditation Commission for Health Care...

Staffing: Locum, Contract, or Permanent?

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of our Staffing Strategies series, Maddie Traylor, President of AdvancedScope, joins us to explore the differences between locum,...

Staffing: Building a Sustainable Culture

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, we explored how to choose the best staffing agency with Mayte Rechani. This week, we’re continuing our staffing series with Mark Henderso...

Staffing: Selecting the Best Agency

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the first episode of our new three-part series on Staffing Strategies for ASCs! Over the next few episodes, we’ll discuss key staffing cons...

ASC Leader Expectations for 2025

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re diving into the latest insights from VMG Health’s newly released report, ASC Leader Expectations for 2025. This report is based on a ...

Opening a New ASC: Step-by-Step Design Guide

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Short, Principal and Founding Member of Cotton Architecture and Design, joins us to break down the step-by-step design process for opening a new ...

QAPI Studies: A Study on GI Case Cancellations

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the final installment of our three-part QAPI studies series, I sit down with Kathy Wilson, Executive Director of the ASC Quality Collaboration, and...

QAPI Studies: What Surveyors Are Looking For

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We are continuing our three-part series about QAPI studies. Last week, we heard from Becky Ziegler-Otis, who shared some fantastic insights into how y...

QAPI Studies: Finding New Ideas

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re kicking off a new three-part series on QAPI Studies!Becky Ziegler-Otis joins us this week to share practical tips for generating new study ide...

Payor Contracts: Chargemaster Essentials

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Allen is the SVP of Managed Care at nimble, and he’s on today’s show to help us wrap up our Payor Contract series. We have already covered 6...

Highlight Reel – 20 Tips to Improve Your Surgery Center

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week marks our 100th episode of This Week in Surgery Centers!We are beyond grateful to everyone who has tuned in and to our 80+ guests who have c...

Payor Contracts: Leveraging Data for Negotiations

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rita Reyes-Williamson is the Senior Director of Managed Care at Surgery Partners, and she joins us today for part 2 of our payor contract series to ta...

Payor Contracts: 6 Essentials for Effective Management

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re starting 2025 with an exciting three-part series on Payor Contracts! In this episode, Kristin Pegram, Contracts and Compliance Manager at Mann...

Kara Newbury – Acting on CMS' 2025 Final Payment Rule

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We had the chance to sit down with Kara Newbury, ASCA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, to discuss what ASCs can expect in 2025. CMS officially published it...

Mel Gunawardena – What an Experienced RCM Expert Needs to Know

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mel Gunawardena is the Co-founder and Managing partner at SYNERGEN Health, and he is here to share with us a few things that every RCM expert needs to...

Joan Dentler – The Latest ASC Market Trends from Hospital Leaders

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, our host, Nick Latz, sits down with Joan Dentler, Founder of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, to explore the insights from their 6th Annual Ho...

Align Health – Opening a Cardiovascular ASC

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve explored many topics related to opening an ASC, but today’s episode dives into something very specific and exciting. Three experts from Alig...

Matt Lau – Annual Budget Planning: 4-Step Process

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Lau, Senior Vice President of Client Accounting & Financial Services at MedHQ, has been helping ASCs manage their financials for over 20 year...

Annual Budget Planning: Knowing Your Audience

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're excited to kick off a brand-new series all about Annual Budget Planning. This is something that every surgery center needs to do to some degree ...

Marie Yarborough – Improving Patient Collections: Proven Strategies

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the third and final episode of our series on Improving Patient Collections! Over the past two episodes, we’ve explored mastering eligibil...

Erica Palmer – Improving Patient Collections: Post-Date of Service

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our three-part series on Improving Patient Collections! In our last episode, we were joined by Sayword Hill from Constitution, who sha...

Sayword Hill – Improving Patient Collections: Mastering Eligibility

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we’re kicking off a three-part series on Improving Patient Collections with Sayword Hill, SVP of Revenue Cycle at Constitution. Say...

13 Benchmarks + 5 Trends for ASCs: Insights from the 2024 State of the Industry Report

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On September 25th, HST Pathways released the 2024 edition of our annual State of the Industry Report. If you're unfamiliar, we launched the report las...

Mike Ferguson – Evaluating Ownership Options: Navigating Both Management Group and Hospital Ownership

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Ferguson, President of Horizon Solutions, joins us to conclude our three-part series on Evaluating Ownership Options for ASCs. As an expert in wo...

Jeff Peo – Evaluating Ownership Options: Selling a Minority Stake

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, we bring you part 2 of our 3-part series on Evaluating Ownership Options. Last week, we explored working with a Management Service...

James Calligan – Evaluating Ownership Options: A Deep Dive into MSOs

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

James Calligan, President of Phoenix Gynecology Consultants, will kick off our new three-part series about Evaluating Ownership Options today. James r...

Janet Carlson – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Communication and Collaboration

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the third and final part of our three-part series on how you can optimize the physician experience. Dr. Justo covered the importance of encou...

Lindsay Schulte – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Aligning with Physician Preferences

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, we kicked off our “Optimizing the Physician Experience” series with Dr. Justo, who covered the importance of encouraging your docs to l...

Dr. Justo – Optimizing the Physician Experience: Learning New Procedures

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today kicks off a new, three-part series on the podcast about Optimizing the Physician Experience. We spend most of our time talking about the patient...

Gregory DeConciliis – Expanding Your ASC: From Concept to Completion

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the third and final part of our three-episode series on Expanding Your ASC. We’ve covered how to bring on new physicians, add new specialti...

Bruce Johnstone – Expanding Your ASC: Adding an OR

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today is part two of a three-part podcast series on Expanding Your ASC. As we learned in the last episode, expansion will look different for every sur...

Michael McClain – Expanding Your ASC: Bringing on New Surgeons + Specialties

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We have officially wrapped up our "Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom" series and are starting a new series on "Expanding Your ASC."Today, I am very ...

Highlight Reel – What is one thing you can do this week to improve your surgery center?

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of every podcast episode, we always ask our guests, “What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?”...

Dr. Joseph Puma – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Dispelling Safety Myths

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today kicks off the third and final part of our “capitalizing on the cardiology boom” series. Dr. Joseph Puma is the founder of Sorin Medical and ...

Kristin Truesdell – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Maximizing Revenue

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today is part 2 of our 3-part series about how you can capitalize on the cardiology boom. Last week, we talked with Kristen Richards about key conside...

Kristen Richards – Capitalizing on the Cardiology Boom: Key Considerations Before Adding Procedures

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today kicks off our three-week series about capitalizing on the cardiology boom! Kristen Richards is the VP of Cardiovascular Operations at Atlas Heal...

Amy Ishmael – Maximizing OR Utilization Through Block Time Optimization

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Amy Ishmael is currently a senior product manager at HST Pathways, but prior to joining HST, Amy was a GI lab tech for years and a surgery scheduler a...

Janet Carlson – 6 Tips for Improving OR Utilization

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Enhancing OR utilization is crucial for boosting your ASC’s financial performance, but knowing where to start can be challenging. In today's episode...

Alex Taira – The Impact of the FTC's Ban on Noncompete Agreements

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Alex Taira. Alex is the Regulatory Affairs and Research Manager at ASCA, and he's on to give us all an update on the impact of ...

Alex Yampolsky – Stopping Drug Diversion at Your ASC

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Yampolsky is the CEO of MedServe, and he will join us this week to share insights into how you can stop drug diversion at your ASC. Drug diversio...

Tina Piotrowski – Q+A: How to Prepare for and Navigate Board-Level Conversations

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tina Piotrowski is the CEO of Copper Ridge Surgery Center. A few weeks ago, at ASCA, Tina joined HST’s session as a panelist alongside Dr. David Sha...

Kate Perlstrom – An Essential Guide to Quarterly Board Meeting Agendas

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Perlstrom is the Director of Surgical Services at Providence Mission Surgery Center, and she’s on today to share her essential guide to board m...

Benita Tapia – Simplifying Board Meetings with a Financial Committee

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the month of April, we will focus our guest discussions on quarterly board meetings. Benita Tapia is the Administrator and Director of Nursing at ...

Monica Daniel – Choosing the Best Option: Opening an ASC, OBL, or Hybrid-Facility

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Monica Daniel is the Principal & Founder of Axiom Integrated Services and has been consulting and helping ASCs for over 25 years. Over the last fe...

Highlight Reel – What is one thing you can do this week to improve your surgery center?

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of every podcast episode, we always ask our guests, “What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?”...

Scott Bacon – Successfully Converting HOPDs to ASCs

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Bacon is the Vice President of Business Development at Compass Surgical Partners, and he’s here to cover how you can successfully convert an H...

Maura Cash – Proactively Improving Your OAS-CAHPS Results

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of our favorite returning guests, Maura Cash, is here today to talk about OAS-CAHPS. There is a ton of OAS-CAHPS coverage right now across the ind...

John Brock – The Blueprint for Building an ASC Management Group

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

John Brock is the Co-Founder, President, and COO of SurgNet Health Partners, and he joins us this week to talk through The Blueprint for Building an A...

David Thawley – How Proactive Operations Will Change Everything for Your ASC

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

David Thawley is the CEO of HST Pathways, and he is on the podcast today to talk about the idea of proactive operations, detailing how, by building a ...

Nine News Stories Shaping the ASC Industry

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we will dive into nine noteworthy news stories that have been making waves in the ever-evolving surgery center industry. We’ll boun...

Kathy Wilson – Accurately Tracking & Reporting on the "Wrong Site" Measure

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Running a surgery center is extremely challenging, and one element that adds to the challenge is collecting, aggregating, and reporting on quality mea...

Marsha Diamond – Using AI to Reduce Denials

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Marsha Diamond is the Director of Coding Solutions at Aideo Technologies, and we had the opportunity to talk with her about how AI can be used to redu...

BJ DiMartini – The Intersection of Outpatient Surgery & Medical Tourism

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

BJ DiMartini is the CEO of Excel Health, and he has been working hard to open new surgery centers in Hawaii and Washington. But BJ and his team are do...

Highlight Reel – What is one thing you can do this week to improve your surgery center?

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the end of every podcast episode, we always ask our guests, "What is one thing our listeners can do this week to improve their surgery centers?"For...

Nader Samii – Preparing for Quarterly Board Meetings

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Every ASC is required to hold a quarterly board meeting in order to stay in compliance and remain accredited. Nader Samii, CEO of nimble, is on today ...

Hilary Sondik – Key RCM Reports to Track in 2024

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hilary Sondik is the Executive Vice President of Operations at Surgical Notes, and today we are doing a deep dive into the key revenue cycle managemen...

Kara Newbury – Acting on CMS' 2024 Final Payment Rule

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kara Newbury is the Director of Government Affairs and Regulatory Counsel at ASCA, and we had the chance to chat with her about CMS’ recently releas...

Joan Dentler – The Latest ASC Market Trends from Hospital Leaders

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joan Dentler is the Founder of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, and she joins our host, Nick Latz, this week to dive into their 5th Annual Hospital Leade...

Mike Tompkins – The Magic of Automatic Payment Posting

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Tompkins is a Client Services Manager at in2itive, and we had a chance to talk through the intricate world of payment posting in ASCs, mainly foc...

Katie Sypher – Thinking Outside the ASC Walls: Optimizing Clinical Operations

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When most people think about clinical operations, they typically focus on the few hours the patient is at your ASC for their procedure. Katie Sypher i...

Will Evans – 10 Clinical & Financial Industry Benchmarks to Know from the State of the Industry Report

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, we held a live, online event with Will Evans. Will is the Senior Director, Data Science and Insights here at HST Pathways, and we spent an ...

Austin Cheng – From the OR to DC: An ASC Leader's Journey into Congressional Candidacy

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a first-generation American, small business owner, healthcare expert, and army veteran with extensive criminal law experience, Austin Cheng has an ...

Greg DeConciliis – Opening an ASC: Continuous Improvement

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the final episode in our 9-part De Novo series! Last but certainly not least, Greg DeConciliis joins us again to discuss Continuous Improveme...

James McClung – Opening an ASC: 30 Days from Your First Patient

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are in the homestretch of our 9-part De Novo series! James McClung joins us this week for part #8 to take us through what you should do when you ar...

Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Business Preparation

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wil Schlaff joins us this week as we continue our series of episodes dedicated to De Novos. Wil is an ASC Development and Operations Specialist, so he...

Andy Berg – Opening an ASC: Finding Your Dream Team

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andy Berg, Director of Clinical Staffing at MedHQ, joined us for the sixth installment of our De Novo series to discuss the intricacies of assembling ...

Gregory DeConciliis – Opening an ASC: Clinical Preparation

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Greg DeConciliis is a Physician Assistant and Administrator at Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites. He spent time with us today to share tips and insig...

Beata Canby – Opening an ASC: Managing the Regulatory and Certification Process

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Beata Canby is a principal and partner at LeftCoast Healthcare Advisors, and she joins us today to talk about managing the regulatory and certificatio...

Dawn Pfeiffer – Ask the Expert: Best Practices for Opening a New Surgery Center

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is a special LIVE edition of This Week in Surgery Centers!Dawn Pfeiffer is the Director of Integration at Regent Surgical Health and a tenured AS...