Industry insiders have told me that the only thing more remarkable than the fact that our prices are online for all to see is that they’re bundled. That means the surgeon, anesthesia facility charges are all rolled into one number, one price. I thought I would give you some insight into the inner workings of this incredibly complicated process. Because as the days roll on you’re going to hear big hospital systems tell everybody that the bundling of these prices is impossible, it can’t be done, and that it’s so difficult.

Let me tell you how it worked at our facility. I sat in the office I’m in right now across the table from surgeons and asked them, “How much do you want for a tonsillectomy? How much do you want for a cruciate ligament reconstruction? What do you think is fair?” I knew their fee, they knew my anesthesia fee, and we all knew the Surgery Center of Oklahoma’s institutional charge.

Everyone had locked arms. Everyone was together. Everyone was accountable. No one could charge more than was obviously fair or it would scuttle the entire price and the market would not bear what we were asking if anyone got greedy or out of line. So there’s an accountability that goes along with bundling on the financial side.

I would argue, also, that quality is enhanced when prices are bundled because for us to say we are going to perform a cruciate ligament reconstruction for instance for $6,990, we actually have to know what we’re doing.  There have to be predicable results. We have predicable results here and we have great quality here and that is why we were able to offer a fixed price.

Bundling is something you will hear more and more about. I wanted to give you some insight about how we did it, how it leads, I believe, to higher quality, and how it also keeps the finances of healthcare in a more reasonable stratosphere.

Thank you for joining me, we’ll see you next time.