Driving Growth and Digital Transformation in Orthopedics with Nyleen Flores

Summary

Driving Growth and Digital Transformation in Orthopedics: A Deep Dive with Nyleen Flores

In the August 3, 2025 episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, host Laura Duda engages in an insightful conversation with Nyleen Flores, Administrator and Chief Operating Officer at Lake Okoni Orthopedics. Flores, who also owns Med Elevate Solutions, brings over 18 years of experience in healthcare, focusing on streamlining operations for Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) across the United States. This episode delves into the current trends, opportunities, challenges, and future growth strategies within the orthopedic and broader healthcare landscape.

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1. Nyleen Flores: A Dual Role in Orthopedics and Healthcare Solutions

Nyleen Flores introduces herself as a seasoned professional based in Georgia, managing an orthopedic practice and operating Med Elevate Solutions. Her dual roles position her uniquely to influence both clinical operations and the administrative efficiencies of ASCs nationwide. Flores remarks:

“I am having a lot of fun exploring and growing orthopedics in many different areas and I have over about 18 years in healthcare overall.”
— Nyleen Flores, 00:31

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2. Top Three Trends Shaping Healthcare and ASCs

Flores outlines three pivotal trends currently transforming healthcare and ASCs:

a. Shift Towards Paperless Operations

The healthcare sector is increasingly adopting Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other digital documentation systems. Flores emphasizes the generational shift in leadership fostering this movement:

“We have a continued shift really towards paperless operations, including a broader implementation of EHRs and electronic logging systems and digital documentation systems overall.”
— Nyleen Flores, 01:31

b. Consolidation of Independently Owned ASCs

There is a noticeable decline in independently owned ASCs due to consolidation with larger health systems and private equity investments. This trend reflects a broader shift towards employed physicians and integrated healthcare models.

c. Enhanced Focus on Quality Metrics and Transparency

Heightened emphasis on quality metrics and transparency is driving accountability and patient-centered care. Social media and digital platforms are empowering physicians to voice systemic issues, potentially leading to significant reforms in healthcare reimbursement and payer-provider relationships.

“I love the openness and platforms, social media and different platforms being utilized to empower physicians to basically say what is wrong with the healthcare system.”
— Nyleen Flores, 02:57

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3. Opportunities in Outpatient Care and ASC Growth

Flores identifies substantial growth opportunities within the ASC industry, particularly in expanding outpatient services and increasing the acuity of cases handled outside hospital settings. She highlights the benefits of providing higher acuity care in outpatient environments, which facilitates patient recovery at home and reduces overall healthcare costs.

“Hopefully the growth of the ASC industry overall, bringing patients outpatient... we're seeing higher acuity cases being performed outpatient.”
— Nyleen Flores, 03:49

However, Flores also points out regulatory challenges, especially in rural areas like Georgia, where Certificate of Need (CON) laws restrict the establishment of new surgery centers, limiting access for small practices and independent physicians.

“We are subject to Certificate of Need law here in Georgia. So it limits a little bit access to surgery centers for a small practice or an independent physician that's not part of a large group or a healthcare system.”
— Nyleen Flores, 04:29

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4. Navigating Digital Transformation in Surgery Centers

Digital transformation is a cornerstone of Flores' strategy to optimize operational efficiency and enhance patient care. She advocates for a complete shift away from paper-based systems to fully integrated digital solutions.

“Focusing on expanding service lines to meet growing demand while optimizing operational efficiency through implementing something I believe very deeply in, which is a complete digital transformation.”
— Nyleen Flores, 06:10

Despite its advantages, Flores acknowledges significant roadblocks to digital adoption:

a. Human Resistance to Change

Change management remains a primary challenge, as staff accustomed to traditional methods may resist transitioning to new digital platforms. Successful transformation often requires strong leadership and champions within the organization to drive adoption.

“The biggest hurdle is they're just used to doing things their way and change is hard.”
— Nyleen Flores, 07:32

b. Financial Constraints

Initial costs for digital platforms can be prohibitive, encompassing software investments and staff training expenses. However, Flores argues that the long-term benefits and return on investment justify these upfront costs.

“When you do a cost-benefit analysis, truly, honestly, and just get over that initial hump, you'll realize that the benefits way outweigh any cost.”
— Nyleen Flores, 08:50

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5. Strategic Growth and Innovative Procedures at Lake Okoni Orthopedics

Looking ahead, Flores outlines Lake Okoni Orthopedics' ambitious growth plans for the next 12 months, which include:

a. Expanding the Practitioner Base

The practice is set to add another orthopedic practitioner, enhancing its capacity to serve a growing patient base.

b. Introducing Advanced Surgical Procedures

A significant highlight is the introduction of thumb replacement surgery using Biopro, a full joint replacement of the Carpometacarpal (CMC) joints. This innovative procedure allows patients to retain full thumb functionality, a remarkable advancement over traditional methods that often result in thumb shortening.

“Our main orthopedic surgeon is performing a thumb replacement surgery with Biopro... allowing them to keep their full thumb and have great use.”
— Nyleen Flores, 09:56

Notably, Lake Okoni Orthopedics is pioneering this procedure in Georgia, performing successful surgeries that have enabled patients with limited hand functionality to regain significant dexterity and quality of life.

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6. Conclusion: Embracing Innovation and Efficiency

The conversation between Laura Duda and Nyleen Flores underscores the dynamic changes and opportunities within the orthopedic and broader healthcare sectors. Flores' insights into digital transformation, strategic growth, and innovative patient care highlight a forward-thinking approach essential for navigating the evolving landscape. Her commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and expanding advanced service lines positions Lake Okoni Orthopedics as a leader in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care.

“We've got to grow, we've got to optimize all of our digital solutions to work efficiently, smarter.”
— Nyleen Flores, 06:10

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, leaders like Flores are instrumental in driving growth, fostering innovation, and ensuring that patient care remains at the forefront of operational strategies.

Transcript

[A]

This is Laura Duda with the Beckers Healthcare podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Nyleen Flores, administrator and Chief Operating Officer at Lake Okoni Orthopedics. Nyleen, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.

[B]

Hi Laura. Thank you.

[A]

Now I'm excited for our discussion because I know there's so much happening in healthcare and particularly a lot of transformation in orthopedics. And so I'm looking forward to getting a sense from you of what you're thinking about how you're looking at the future and where growth might come from. But before we dive in, can you introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit more about your background? Sure.

[B]

So my name is Nyleen Flores, as you mentioned, I'm currently based out of Georgia and like you said, I I've been running orthopedic practice now here for the last couple years and also own and operate a company called Med Elevate Solutions where we streamline healthcare processes for ASCs and practices throughout the United States. So I am having a lot of fun exploring and growing orthopedics in many different areas and I have over about 18 years in healthcare overall.

[A]

That's amazing to hear and thank you so much for digging in. I know it can be a huge responsibility to run the practice and have med elevators solutions and just continue to work within the ASC industry. So with that in mind, what are the top three trends that you're following right now in healthcare and ASCs today?

[B]

So this is going to be really interesting because we have a continued shift really towards paperless operations, including a broader implementation of EHRs and electronic logging systems and digital documentation systems overall. I think that as our generation, younger generations come up in leadership, this will hopefully increase in trend. Also I'm watching the decline of independently owned ASC is unfortunately consolidation with larger health systems and private equity is really continuing as our health care shift kind of continues to happen to more employed physicians and then also a heightened focus on quality metrics and transparency which is driving accountability and patient centered care. And honestly with this, I love the openness and platforms, social media and different platforms being utilized to empower physicians to basically say what is wrong with the healthcare system. And hopefully that will lead to a revolution in in healthcare overall with watch reimbursements and the way that payers help us continue to be able to treat patients in the ambulatory space. And so this is all something really exciting that I'm watching.

[A]

Absolutely. No, that's definitely fascinating and I think especially when you look at the trend, as you mentioned, of consolidation in the industry, new, you know, people coming in, new organizations, private equity health systems, trying to figure out their outpatient strategy. It seems like there's so much possibility and potential in outpatient that I can imagine, you know, transformations happening quickly. But I'm curious too. You know, when you look at physicians and the tide as it seems to be turning a little bit here with both physicians as well as payers, you know, where do you see some of the big opportunities? What do you see as being the spaces that will know change the most over the next few years?

[B]

Well, hopefully the growth of the ASC industry overall, bringing patients outpatient. Most recently, we're also increasing acu, you know, acuity of cases, and we're seeing higher acuity cases being performed outpatient. So in general, much better care for the patient is being provided outpatient so that they can recover at home. But what's really interesting is in my last couple of authorization requests, where we are here is rural Georgia. So we don't. And we also are subject to certificate of need law here in Georgia. So it limits a little bit access to surgery centers for a small practice or an independent physician that's not part of a large group or a health care system. In any case, I've seen several authorization requests come through specifically asking why we cannot perform, for example, a knee scope at a surgery center. So we've actually had to justify with payers as to why we're performing this type of case in a. In a hospital versus a surgery center. And then in our case, it's simple, it's just lack of access. But, you know, if the payers are starting to put this as part of the prior authorizations, may not be such a bad thing to have physicians move more of their cases outpatient with the backing now, or kind of a little bit of a push from the payers to make this happen and ultimately obviously save money for the patient and look for opportunities for physicians to have an other source of. Of income. And then just overall increasing the openness and discussion of hard health care truths, from safety concerns to systemic inefficiencies, that there's, you know, real potential for these conversations to lead to true, tangible improvements in care of quality and equity of care.

[A]

That's amazing to hear. And I can imagine, you know, a really positive trend as you're looking at outpatient, looking at, you know, figuring out ways that the patients and physicians can have more access to that setting. I know it can make a really big difference. What are you most excited about right now?

[B]

Most excited is focusing on expanding service lines to meet growing demand while optimizing operational efficiency through implementing something I believe very deeply in, which is a complete digital transformation, moving away from paper, streamlining compliance and improving data accessibility. This is what I push to my clients and I tell them we've got to grow, we've got to optimize all of our digital solutions to work efficiently, smarter. And so I'm really excited about that and particularly growing service lines to include, you know, the higher acuity cases in the outpatient space. I'm really, really excited about that.

[A]

Absolutely. And I think that's such a great point you brought up because you know, having that digital transformation, having the data makes such a big difference for a variety of reasons, whether it's trying to be more efficient or figuring out how you can, you know, better have conversation with payers and improve your values. So you know, when you look realistically at surgery centers, there's a variety of types of centers, large, small, independent. How possible do you see that digital transformation? What are some of the roadblocks that you see surgery centers running up against and how are the best navigating them?

[B]

Well, roadblocks is people. People are the roadblocks you can. And then also it could be financial as well. Platforms can be expensive to begin to implement to start out because you have to not only pay for the software, but you've got to pay your staff to get trained to use it until you can actually see the return on investment as you actually begin to use the product. So that is the biggest hurdle, is they're just used to doing things their way and change is hard. So unless you have that strong figure, pushing and champion in your surgery center, and it doesn't even have to be the administrator, it doesn't have to be the clinical leader, it has to be a champion in the center that's willing to say, okay, I'm going to take the lead in clinical, I'm going to take the lead in the business office to make sure that they are on board with this transformation. So that is the biggest hurdle. I think that when you do a cost benefit analysis, truly, honestly, and just get over that initial hump, you'll realize that the benefits way outweigh any cost. So that is the biggest hurdle is people.

[A]

That makes a lot of sense. And you know, I appreciate that kind of forward looking nature of it because you know, as you're right, it's an investment, but definitely investment in the future that if done right, will make a Big difference in habit ROI that you're looking for. When you think about Lake Roche orthopedics in general, how are you looking at growth in the next 12 months? Can you tell us a little bit more about additional procedures and services that you'll be bringing in?

[B]

Yes. So really excited. We're looking to grow add another practitioner here at our practice. Like I said, we moved from a very busy practice in Florida, kind of opened it here. But most exciting is my main orthopedic surgeon is performing a thumb replacement surgery with Biopro. It is a full joint replacement of the CMC joints. And so the patients are doing amazing. We've even he's the only practitioner practitioner currently doing that in the state of Georgia. We unfortunately can only perform it at a hospital because we don't have a surgery center here. So really excited to just increase different new service lines and offer new procedures. Not necessarily. It's not really that new. It's just that not many doctors are doing it. But it's a great procedure that's allowing for patients to regain and not have to do a traditional procedure that would actually shorten their thumb. This allows them to keep their full thumb and have great use. We've even done one on a person who only had one hand. So we and now we're doing our second patient who's doing both joints. So we've done both hands. Recovery has been great. So we're looking to continue to do innovative, great procedures to help patients in general. So we're excited about that.

[A]

That's fascinating to hear and what a cool evolution in technology and medicine and just being able to perform really needed procedures. But also I know the complexity, especially of the hand and thumb, is something that it takes real expertise to do. Nyleen, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. This has been a fun conversation and I look forward to connecting with you again soon.

[B]

Great. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.