Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Brenda Fernández, MBA, Chief Financial Officer, Puerto Rico ASC Holding

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Brenda Fernández, MBA, Chief Financial Officer, Puerto Rico ASC Holding · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  forward slash beckerspodcast.
• 0:35
  This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare
• 0:37
  Podcast, and we are recording live at the
• 0:39
  thirty first annual business and operations of ASCs.
• 0:42
  I'm currently joined by Brenda Fernandez, who is
• 0:45
  the chief financial officer at Puerto Rico ASC
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  Holding. So Brenda, thanks for being here. I'm
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  gonna have you kick us off by sharing
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  a little bit more about yourself and your
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  work in the ASC space.
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  Yeah. First, thank you for the invite.
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  I currently serve as a chief financial officer
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  of,
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  network of ASCs in Puerto Rico. Our portfolio
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  includes,
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  two single specialty
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  in ophthalmic ASCs and one multi specialty
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  with the first outpatient
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  total joint program on the island. My role
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  focus on
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  financial stewardship and sustainable growth,
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  overseeing strategic investment, payer contracting, capital allocation, and
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  operational
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  efficiency.
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  I work closely with the
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  clinical and administrative leaders
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  to ensure that
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  every dollar spent
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  aligns with our mission, which is delivering high
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  quality, cost effective care in a compliant and
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  scalable environment.
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  Wonderful. Well, thanks for being here. And let's
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  start our conversation by talking about the ASC
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  market. In The US, this is projected to
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  reach $60,800,000,000
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  by 2030, and it continues to experience strong
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  year over year growth. So from your perspective,
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  what is the most significant trend and market
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  forces driving this expansion? And how should ASC
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  leaders be preparing today?
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  Well, the growth, it's been fueled by a
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  combination of payer payer incentive,
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  patient preference, and innovation.
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  From a financial lens, the shift of surgical
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  volume from hospital to ASCs, especially orthopedics and
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  ophthalmology,
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  this creates meaningful cost saving for the system
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  while maintaining quality.
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  So
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  there are
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  opportunities in the market. So for ASC leaders,
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  the priority should be scaling in a strategic
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  way.
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  For example, build strong financial motors around came
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  case mix and payer mix to anticipate margin
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  compression.
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  Also, straighten revenue cycle performance,
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  eligibility,
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  coding, accuracy, and denials management.
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  Another priority,
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  might be aligned capital investment in technology and
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  infrastructure with volume based
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  return on investment projections.
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  And the last one but not minor, diversity
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  partnerships and bundled payment participation to stay competitive
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  in a value based environment.
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  Wonderful.
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  And then from AI and robotic surgeries to
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  advanced EHR systems, technology remains both a make
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  or break factor and a critical driver of
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  ASC operations at scale. So how do you
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  see deeper tech integration shaping the ways ASCs
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  deliver care and manage their business over the
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  next few years?
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  AI is a trending topic in this era.
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  Technology is quickly becoming the great equalizer for
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  a for ASCs.
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  From my perspective,
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  data driven decision making is now the differentiator
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  between good and great centers.
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  AI is,
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  an automation are allowing us
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  to actually predict case profitability
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  and optimize staffing in real time.
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  Also, doing some benchmark supply utilization and implant
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  costs against national datasets.
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  Also
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  identify leakage points in billing or documentation
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  that directly affect cash flow.
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  Advanced analytics also make our board level reporting
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  sharper. We can tie operational metrics
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  directly to their financial impact like turnover, state,
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  and infection rates among others.
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  The next frontier
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  is
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  integrated
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  dashboards that link quality outcomes, staffing, and cost
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  per case on one platform.
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  And with 60% of health systems considering ASC
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  joint ventures and many ASCs already partnering with
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  systems in their communities,
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  what opportunities do you see for collaboration, whether
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  with other providers or vendors, to strengthen patient
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  care and operational efficiency?
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  Partnerships
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  are where where we are valued has been
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  unlocked. Help system bring brand recognition
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  and complex
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  case pathways.
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  ASCs brings efficiency and lower cost structures.
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  There are too many opportunities in the market.
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  So some of them include joint venture expansions,
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  where hospital contribute case volume and capital, and
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  ASCs provide operational excellence.
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  Another opportunity
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  might be vendor and implant partnerships
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  tied to cost per case performance or volume
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  based rebates.
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  And, also, I think that cost provider networks,
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  it could be another opportunity for bundled episodes,
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  surgery,
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  rehab,
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  and follow ups to enhance con continuity of
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  care and capture shared savings.
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  The financial motor of the future is collaborative,
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  share risk, share reward, and align transparency.
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  Well, thank you so much for taking the
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  time to join me today. Is there anything
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  we didn't touch on or any final thoughts
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  you'd like to share? Absolutely.
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  Financial literacy, it's in the ASC world today
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  means more than balancing books.
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  It's about designing resilient systems.
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  Our challenge is to remain lean while investing
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  in the right innovations.
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  The centers that
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  thrive will be those that combine discipline and
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  cost management with boldness in strategic growth.
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  Technology and collaboration
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  are not are not just enablers.
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  They are capital multipliers when executed with precisions.
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  Wonderful. Well, Brenda, thanks so much for joining
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  me. And, again, we are recording live at
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  the thirty first annual business and operations of
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  ASCs. Thanks so much. Thank you.