Episode Transcription

00;00;00;04 – 00;00;20;03

Welcome to The Growing a Successful Orthopaedic Practice Podcast. Join us every episode to hear from fellow medical practice administrators, staff, and physicians as we break down current issues affecting the industry and share real stories from gaffes on their way to growing a successful orthopedic practice. Let’s get started.

00;00;20;05 – 00;00;41;11

Welcome back to How to Grow a Successful Orthopaedic Practice. Before we get started, a quick note. The voices in this episode are AI generated. It may sound a little different than usual, but it allows us to bring you more timely insights without adding extra hours to the production schedule. Today, we’re talking about what independent orthopedic practices need to be paying attention to.

00;00;41;18 – 00;01;08;14

As we head into 2026. Not from a clinical angle, but from a marketing and patient demand perspective. The ground is shifting in ways that directly impact how practices attract patients, how they convert them, and how they keep them engaged. What used to work isn’t enough anymore. Patients are behaving differently. Technology is being regulated differently and care pathways are evolving quickly.

00;01;08;17 – 00;01;33;17

The practices that grow in 2026 will be the ones that adjust early to these changes. Let’s start with one of the biggest shifts affecting health care marketing right now. The growing regulatory pressure around digital tracking. For years, most health care websites use tools like Meta and Facebook Pixels to understand on site behavior and improve advertising. But regulators now treat those pixels very differently.

00;01;33;19 – 00;01;58;08

If a patient visits your knee replacement page or your spine surgery page, and that URL is quietly sent to a third party, regulators may consider this unauthorized disclosure of protected health information. Even meta is filtering out health related signals to limit its own risk. From a marketing standpoint, this means practices must rethink how they track conversions and measure success.

00;01;58;10 – 00;02;29;26

You can still track actions, but not in a way that exposes the meaning of those actions. Heading into 2026, sanitizing tracking tools and implementing privacy safe analytics should be considered foundational. The second shift is financial reimbursements remain flat. Operating expenses keep rising, and competition continues to expand not just from hospitals, but from ambulatory surgery centers. National misc brands, and virtual first providers.

00;02;29;29 – 00;03;00;22

At the same time, CMS will roll out the team model in 2026, a mandatory bundled payment program. This model makes practices responsible for both the cost and outcome of the entire surgical episode. From a marketing perspective, this changes what needs to be highlighted. It’s no longer enough to say we do orthopedics. Patients need to understand the value of coordinated care, surgical optimization, and reduced complications.

00;03;00;24 – 00;03;35;08

Marketing must demonstrate the ability to manage the full episode of care, because that’s how practices are being evaluated financially. Related to that patient preference for ambulatory surgery centers continues to rise. ASCs are viewed as more convenient, more efficient, and often safer. Marketing should reflect this momentum clearly. Patients respond when a practice can articulate why the ASC experience is faster, more personalized, and often less stressful than hospital based surgery.

00;03;35;11 – 00;04;08;12

Now let’s shift to consumer perception. According to the 2025 Press Gagne Consumer Experience Report, 85% of patients assess how safe a practice appears before they ever schedule a visit. For younger patients, especially, perceived safety carries more weight than access speed. And these impressions are formed online. A broken website, a slow loading page, or an inaccurate Google listing immediately creates doubt about clinical reliability.

00;04;08;14 – 00;04;42;04

From a marketing perspective, digital clarity equals perceived safety practices must present themselves online the same way they want patients to view their operating rooms clean, organized, and trustworthy. Press Gagne also points to what they call the four star cliff. 84% of patients will reconsider a provider if their rating drops below four stars, and this issue is magnified by Google’s AI overviews, which now summarize thousands of reviews automatically.

00;04;42;06 – 00;05;14;04

If a practice does not generate a steady stream of recent specific positive reviews. The AI may not recommend the practice even if outcomes are excellent. Reputation has become a marketing channel and must be managed as such. Access is another area where marketing has become inseparable from operations. The Digital Health Most Wired National Trends Report for 2025 shows that while most organizations offer online scheduling and secure messaging, patient frustration with access remains high.

00;05;14;06 – 00;05;43;16

Nearly 40% of all appointment attempts now occur after hours. If a practice requires patients to call. Many will simply move on. Younger consumers switch providers quickly when digital convenience is lacking. Marketing efforts are wasted if patients cannot convert interest into an appointment. Real time scheduling, two way texting and virtual injury clinics are quickly becoming baseline expectations for reducing friction and improving patient acquisition.

00;05;43;18 – 00;06;17;05

These shifts reflect a larger truth. Independent orthopedic practices increasingly operate in a consumer driven environment. Patients expect convenience, clarity, transparency and speed, but the human experience still matters deeply. Press Gagne consistently shows that empathy, communication, and follow up remain the strongest drivers of patient loyalty. Marketing can bring people in, but meaningful human connection is what keeps them there.

00;06;17;07 – 00;06;50;19

Another trend that deserves attention, and one that has become nearly impossible to ignore, is the impact of GLP one medications and next generation weight loss drugs. Even though they weren’t part of the main orthopedic narrative, in years past, these medications have dominated health care conversations and patients are now bringing them into discussions about joint pain and mobility. Practices don’t need to overhaul their strategy, but they do need to understand how these drugs influence patient expectations and care pathways.

00;06;50;22 – 00;07;23;18

A good example comes from the phase three trial of Eli Lilly’s Read A True Tide, reported by STAT News on December 11th, 2025. Participants with knee osteoarthritis lost up to 28.7% of their body weight. The most significant result ever recorded in a late stage weight loss trial. Weight loss at that scale directly reduces joint load, improves mobility, and can delay or sometimes eliminate the need for surgical intervention.

00;07;23;20 – 00;07;55;07

Marketing can begin to acknowledge this by shaping messaging around joint preservation and mobility pathways. Rather than focusing solely on procedural care, this also connects naturally to the team model. Obesity is strongly associated with surgical complications and readmissions. Team encourages proactive management of modifiable risk factors ahead of surgery. Offering or partnering on weight optimization programs can improve readiness and protect margins.

00;07;55;09 – 00;08;32;04

That’s not just a clinical benefit, it’s a marketing opportunity. As practices position themselves as comprehensive mobility partners. There’s also the continuity aspect. STAT news reported discontinuation rates between 12 and 18% for Reada. True Tide, often due to side effects or rapid weight loss. These patients still have osteoarthritis and still need long term management. Marketing should frame the practice as a consistent partner, supporting patients whether weight loss medications postpone surgery or whether they eventually need injections or an operative solution.

00;08;32;06 – 00;09;08;11

Taking all of this together, marketing in 2026 requires a new narrative. The old approach was your knee hurts. Come talk about surgery. The new approaches. Your knee hurts. Let’s explore a joint health pathway that improves mobility from every angle. Patients respond to comprehensive solutions and practices that articulate that full pathway. We’ll stand out when you factor in the regulatory shifts, the bundled payment model, the rise of ASC care, the importance of digital clarity and reputation, and evolving patient expectations.

00;09;08;14 – 00;09;40;09

The direction becomes clear. Practices that will succeed in 2026 are those that reduce friction, strengthen their digital presence, integrate metabolic and orthopedic thinking, and build trust through both technology and meaningful human connection, precision and protection. That’s what marketing requires in 2026. And that’s the breakdown. If you enjoyed this episode or found it helpful, be sure to like or follow the show and consider leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

00;09;40;11 – 00;09;50;22

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00;09;50;25 – 00;10;10;13

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