The Power of a Unified Purpose

Published July 7, 2014

One year and six months ago, we officially launched as The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics. Looking back, it is remarkable how far we have come in that short time through the combined efforts of our 134 physicians and over 1,200 staff.

When our individual practices decided to join together to form The Centers, it was because we believed in the same vision: “that the private practice model is the best method of care for our patients and that this model must be protected and defended.”  Over the course of the last year and a half, we have taken concrete steps to do just that. The fact that 24 private orthopaedic practices aligned together so quickly to form one of the largest orthopaedic groups in the country speaks volumes to the dedication of our administrators and staff, to the leadership of our doctors and to our conviction to providing the very highest level of musculoskeletal care to our patients.

While large healthcare institutions and insurance carriers have always had influence in our industry, our business model has a very distinct advantage: the direct relationships we have with our patients. We all know the importance of this relationship and now, with the combination of our size and the personal care we provide to our patients, we have a unique advantage. With your continued efforts and support, we will soon be able to support the entire episode of our patients’ musculoskeletal care.

Our size has been a key factor in allowing us to effectively advocate for the future of musculoskeletal medicine and to improve the prioritization of the concerns of our patients. We are already working with the government at both the state and federal levels to ensure that no laws are passed that would restrict our patients from receiving the services they need or in any way constrain the patient-doctor relationship. In addition, the collective efforts of many individuals in our group at the Strategic Planning Meetings will culminate with actionable outcomes that we look forward to implementing later this summer.

There is no doubt that we are in the midst of challenging times for our industry – this is especially true for private physician practices who increasingly find themselves under significant regulatory and financial pressure. However, this is an incredibly exciting time for The Centers as we continue to make a difference in the future of orthopaedics.  I can see nothing but a very bright future for The Centers. We are already seeing the fruits of the hard work of our staff and doctors. We must all remember that we are far stronger standing together than we ever were standing alone.