The DocBuddy Journal

Alex Fernandez, CEO of Synergy Orthopedic Specialists and a 30-year veteran of physician practice management, joins Erik Sunset and The DocBuddy Journal to talk about what actually makes or breaks a physician group integration — and it's not always the financials. From private equity-backed rollups to independent practice mergers, Alex has seen what happens when acquired groups are left to ru...

The average American physician is now walking away from medicine at 48 years old. Not retiring. Not transitioning to leadership. Walking away entirely—nine years before the system expected them to. And the number one reason they cite? Not pay. Not hours. Paperwork. This isn't a distant crisis. It's already here, and the healthcare establishment isn't talking about it the way they sh...

In this episode, Erik breaks down what this certification actually means, why it matters, and what it signals about the maturity of AI in healthcare. This isn't about slowing innovation—it's about validating before deploying. Eighty-one percent of physicians are now using AI in clinical practice—up from just 38% in 2023. That's not gradual adoption. That's a full-out sprint. Bu...

A landmark study just tracked 224,629 surgeons over a decade, and the findings are a wake-up call for every surgery center administrator in the country. Nearly 10% of surgeons left clinical practice within an eight-year period — and in some specialties, the numbers are far worse. Oral and maxillofacial surgery lost 1 in 4 surgeons within just five years. OB/GYN wasn't far behind. In this epis...

If your surgery center is still relying on transcription services, freehand dictation, or rigid EHR templates for operative reports, this episode of the DocBuddy Journal is worth your time. Host Erik Sunset makes the case that what many ASCs treat as standard practice is actually just the old way and there's a measurable cost to staying there. Drawing from Doc Buddy's own onboarding proc...

Michael McClain, founder of Left Coast Healthcare Advisors, returns to the DocBuddy Journal with Erik Sunset for a practical conversation about ASC expansion. Before jumping to blueprints and construction budgets, Michael argues that most surgery centers need to get honest about what problem they're actually trying to solve. More often than not, the answer isn't more square footage. From...

Jeff Pfaff, Senior Director of Business Operations at Inova Health Systems, joins host Erik Sunset to share hard-won lessons from scaling one of Northern Virginia's most active ASC networks — from a single center to five thriving multi-specialty locations with a additional growth planned. Jeff breaks down how Inova approaches the relentless pace of digital transformation, why throwing FTEs at...

Marc Ryan, Chief Solutions Officer at Lilac Software, returns to the DocBuddy Journal with big news: Lilac Software has been acquired by Medisolv, combining payer and agentic AI expertise with Medisolv's established provider and quality measurement platform. From there, Marc and host Erik Sunset break down the most important trends shaping healthcare in 2026 — the Trump administration's...

In this solo episode, host Erik Sunset gives March updates for the DocBuddy team and tackles a common objection he hears from surgery center administrators: "I don't have all my surgeons on board yet. Is that a problem?" The answer might surprise you. Surgery centers have been stuck in an all-or-nothing technology trap for too long. Unlike EHR implementations that require full facil...

Healthcare organizations are hemorrhaging revenue through preventable denials, documentation gaps, and front-office errors. Yet, many don't realize how much money they're leaving on the table. In this episode, host Erik Sunset sits down with Chris Caspar, CEO of Altruis, to explore what truly differentiates effective revenue cycle management from the commodity "get paid faster"...

In this episode of the DocBuddy Journal, Erik Sunset shares a positive story straight from the field regarding one of our account managers at a recent Op Note go-live at a Florida multi-specialty surgery center. He also covers a major ASC update: CMS added 86 new cardiovascular procedure codes for 2026, opening new growth opportunities — but not without challenges like capital costs, staffing, and...

The U.S. healthcare system is approaching a critical tipping point. By 2030, America will face a shortage of over 127,000 full-time physicians, representing more than 10% of the current workforce. In this episode of the DocBuddy Journal, host Erik Sunset breaks down eye-opening data from Medicus Healthcare Solutions that quantifies the severity of the physician shortage. Discover how 42% of curren...

Welcome back to the DocBuddy Journal in 2026! In this episode, Erik tackles the persistent anesthesia shortage crisis that's reshaping ambulatory surgery center operations. From drug shortages to workforce gaps, learn how rising anesthesia subsidies are hitting $30M+ for major ASC management companies, why locum tenens usage has jumped 70% since 2024, and how surgery centers are adapting thro...

In this solo episode, host Erik Sunset explores two critical studies, the first on physician burnout and the second on practical solutions for ASC leaders. Discover how dedicating just one 20-30 minute appointment slot per day for administrative work reduced after-hours EHR use by 53 minutes and cut physician burnout by 81%.  Erik also digs into CHG Healthcare's latest findings showing only 1...

In this episode, host Erik sits down with Phil Sayles, CEO of Summate Technologies, to discuss a critical yet overlooked problem in healthcare: the analog documentation process for surgical implants. Drawing on his 16 years as a device rep for Synthes, Phil explains why operating rooms still rely on pen, paper, and sticky notes to track millions of dollars in medical implants. From missing implant...

We're three weeks into a government shutdown with no end in sight, and the healthcare industry is caught in the crossfire. Marc Ryan, Chief Solutions Officer at Lilac Software and author of The Healthcare Labyrinth , joins host Erik Sunset to break down what's really at stake as Democrats and Republicans dig in their heels over ACA subsidy extensions and healthcare cuts. From the $1 tril...

In this episode, we explore 2025's healthcare IT investment landscape and what it means for overwhelmed providers. Learn which technologies are getting funded, why workflow integration matters more than flashy features, and how to evaluate solutions that actually save time. Special thanks to KLAS Research and Bain & Company for their report. #HealthIT #HealthcarePodcast #HealthITPodcast

Join DocBuddy Journal hosts Erik Sunset and Kiera Helms as they dive into the real-world experience of implementing new healthcare technology in ambulatory surgery centers. Kiera, one of DocBuddy's account managers, shares stories from her recent field implementations, revealing how surgery centers are moving from legacy systems to modern solutions like Op Note. Discover what it's really...

Join host Erik Sunset, DocBuddy's Chief Revenue Officer, as he sits down with Greg DeConciliis, Administrator of Boston Outpatient Surgical Suites , to explore the winning strategies behind one of New England's most successful ambulatory surgery centers. From humble beginnings in 2004 as a 3-OR facility to their upcoming expansion to an 8-OR, state-of-the-art center, Greg shares the blue...

All of us at DocBuddy wish you a happy National ASC Month! In this episode, we covered resources to help you celebrate + advocate on behalf of your surgery center and the industry at large.  Visit our good friends at ASCA to get their resources and learn how you can participate in National Advocacy Day in Washington DC using this link. We also discussed user feedback from a recent DocBuddy Op Note...

ASCs are losing money every single day through poor block time utilization, but it doesn't have to be this way. In this episode, Erik Sunset, DocBuddy's Chief Revenue Officer and host of the DocBuddy Journal, breaks down the Becker's article that's got the industry talking about underutilized ORs, scheduling inefficiencies, and the anesthesia shortage crisis. Erik shares game c...

In this episode of the DocBuddy Journal, host Erik Sunset sits down with Jessica Bush, founder and CEO of Real Change RN, to explore what separates great healthcare leaders from managers. Jessica shares powerful insights on building authentic relationships, establishing trust through vulnerability, and creating a culture where teams want to follow rather than just comply. Drawing from her personal...

Join host Erik and Marc Ryan, Chief Solutions Officer of Lilac Software , as they dissect the latest congressional budget reconciliation drama and the "Big Beautiful Bill's" impact on healthcare. With razor-thin margins in both chambers, Republicans are pushing through nearly $1 trillion in healthcare cuts while Trump launches a drug pricing reform campaign. From Medicaid work requi...

America's surgery centers are caught in a perfect storm: physician shortages that have tripled anesthesia costs, a vanishing workforce of surgical technicians, and Medicare policies so out of alignment that patients pay more for outpatient surgery than hospital procedures. We sat down with Rena Courtay, VP of Ambulatory Surgery at Trinity Health and ASCA Board officer, to unpack the physician...

Host Erik Sunset returns after a brief hiatus to discuss DocBuddy's innovative Op Note app, which transforms how ambulatory surgery centers handle operative reports.  Erik also shared key insights from McDermott Will and Emery's HealthEx event in Nashville, highlighting key takeaways from the C-Suite panel featuring leaders from Surgery Partners, SCA Health, Regent Surgical, and AMSURG. ...