Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | November 22, 2021 | wbjournal.com shortage of surgeons as the population ages and more vascular diseases arise, Simons said. "Basically the prevalence of pe- ripheral artery disease specifically is projected to just explode to be well over 200 million people worldwide, and so the need of vascular surgeons to care for that population is huge; and the current workforce is projected not to be adequate so if anything we need more vascular surgeons," Simons said. Simosa said reducing risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes is key to making the disease more manageable for future doctors. "Unless we do better in all of these areas, I do not think we are going to be able to put a dent in the pace at which the disease grows. is would eventually allow the doctors who are in training to be able to keep up and provide care for those folks," Simosa said. Reducing hospital costs e Vascular Care Group, a group of interventional and vein centers throughout Massachusetts with loca- tions in areas such as Worcester and Sturbridge, is implementing a business model elevating the patient experi- ence while reducing costs and making healthcare traffic in hospitals more manageable. is firm is revamping the patient experience by offering the latest in vascular technology with the conve- nience of receiving minimally invasive treatments in an office setting rather than a hospital. While the Vascular Care Group did not invent this model, the surgery group is one of the few implementing this business strategy in the Northeast, said Simosa. "We are emptying the buckets of our healthcare dollars. As healthcare costs continue to go up and up and up, we are using up all our Medicare and Medicaid funds, and the costs of private insuranc- es keep going up," he said. Traditionally patients are sent to the hospital for appointments, preparations, procedures, and recovery, but many of these aspects can be completed in an outpatient, office-based setting, thereby reducing costs and decreasing the flow of patients to hospitals, which can focus on delivering care to severely ill patients. "Just think of this, you have the same patient, the same doctor, the same procedure done in two different sites, same outcome; and you are saving at least 25% to 40% of the costs. If we do that across Medicare, we can extend the money for many many years to come," Simosa said. In addition to facilitating vascular procedures in a low-stress, outpatient environment, the Vascular Care Group is researching its own technological advancements in the vascular surgery field. "is is not just an office full of doc- tors and administrators. ese are peo- ple who are trying to think and come up with a solution," Simosa said. Health care is your employee's most important benefit. That's why our plans care for the whole person – including their peace of mind. To learn how your employees can count on AllWays Health Partners, contact your employee benefit advisor, or visit allwayshealth.org A health plan your employees can count on W Continued from previous page F O C U S H E A L T H C A R E Fiber Optic RealShape device enables Dr. Andres Schanzer to perform minimally invasive vascular surgery, which would otherwise be much riskier.

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