Building Connected Spine Care Operations

Introduction

When Knoxville Spine Surgery Center opened in Knoxville, Tennessee, the team had an opportunity to build its operations the right way from the start. Led by Director Amy Swaffer, the center supports spine surgery and pain procedures, and needed a system that could help the team manage clinical workflows, patient estimates, reporting, and visibility across the surgical day.

HST became part of the center’s foundation during implementation. Rather than starting with paper-heavy processes or disconnected tools, Knoxville Spine Surgery Center was able to build around electronic charting, patient estimate workflows, and reporting capabilities that could support the team as the center opened, grew, and became more comfortable with daily operations.

Challenge

Opening a new surgery center meant Amy and her team had to make important workflow decisions before every process was fully established. As a clinical nurse, Amy understood patient care and the realities of running a surgical day, but building an EHR from the ground up required a different kind of support.

The team needed help visualizing how the system should work, how workflows should be structured, and how the center could avoid relying on paper-based processes. They also needed better visibility into where patients were throughout the surgical day, a simpler way to send and explain patient estimates, and reporting tools that could help them track performance over time.

For Knoxville Spine Surgery Center, the goal was not just to select software. The team needed a flexible foundation that could support the way their center worked from day one, while giving them room to expand their use of the system as their operations matured.

The Solution

HST helped Knoxville Spine Surgery Center build an EHR and operational setup that matched the needs of the center. During the evaluation process, Amy said the flexibility of HST stood out because the team could choose the tools that made sense for their center instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

That flexibility was especially helpful during implementation. HST showed Amy and her team examples from a similar center, which made it easier to understand what their own EHR could look like and how it could be customized. For a new center still shaping its workflows, that guidance helped turn an abstract buildout process into something more practical and approachable.

Electronic charting also gave the team a clearer view of the surgical day. Instead of relying on a dry erase board, staff can see case status on a monitor, including when patients are in pre-op, in the operating room, or in PACU. Patient estimates became easier to manage as well, with the team able to send estimates by text, provide printed copies when needed, and help patients better understand their financial responsibility before surgery.

The Results

With HST in place, Knoxville Spine Surgery Center gained more visibility across daily operations. The team can more easily follow where patients are in their surgical journey, helping staff stay aligned as patients move from pre-op to the operating room and into PACU. Amy also shared that the center is considering making that visibility available in the waiting area, so families can better understand where their loved one is during the surgical day.

Patient estimates have also become easier for the team to manage and easier for patients to review. Amy said estimates can be sent with the click of a button, giving patients a chance to look at the information earlier, ask questions, and plan financially. That earlier visibility can help the center work through financial concerns before the day of surgery, instead of running into issues at the last minute.

Chart completion has been another important benefit. Amy shared that completed charts are easier for the pharmacist and physicians to review, even when they are not onsite every day. For Amy, one of the biggest overall benefits is avoiding paper charts and having easier access to the reporting, benchmarking, and quality-related information the center needs as it continues to grow.

The Future

As Knoxville Spine Surgery Center continues to mature, Amy sees more opportunities to use HST to support the center’s next stage of improvement. Now that the team is open, operating, and more comfortable with the system, she wants to go deeper into HST and better understand how to use its capabilities more effectively.

The center is beginning to use reporting and benchmarking tools, including areas like first case on-time starts, to identify opportunities for greater efficiency. For a new center, the early priority was getting open and building the right workflows. The next step is refining those workflows, learning more about what the system can do, and using that visibility to keep improving operations over time.

Amy said she would recommend HST to another ASC, especially another new center, because of its ease of use and the support she has received from the HST team. For Knoxville Spine Surgery Center, HST has helped create a connected foundation that can continue supporting the team as its needs evolve.