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During a time when the U.S. health care industry is emerging from a period of reform to transformation an unlikely entrepreneurial duo, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alejandro Badia and financial industry expert and Wharton alumni Justin Irizarry, saw an opportunity to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar orthopedic health care delivery system and to simultaneously achieve the industries “Quadruple Aim”: better outcomes, lower costs, improved patient experience and improved clinician experience.
In 2010, the two men had a conversation about health care that encompassed two health care fundamentals; the patient and the bottom line. Badia’s focus was on the patient and the waste associated with the traditional health care delivery method; people with orthopedic issues being directed to an emergency room and after an initial consult and a battery, often, of unnecessary and costly tests, directed then to see a specialist. Irizarry’s attention was on the economic power of the 48-billion-dollar annual orthopedic health care industry and the 20-billion-dollar annual urgent care sector. With these basic principles serving as their guide they created and activated a business concept they called OrthoNOW®
The pair realized that for a patient the opportunity to go straight to a specialist following a non-life threatening sports injury or orthopedic accident would save time, money and produce superior outcomes. They next expanded on this patient centric philosophy and combined on-demand expert care with technology. They developed an app that identifies where the nearest location is and allows the patient to notify that center that they are on their way, the reason for their visit and approximate time of arrival so the center can be at the ready.
Today, OrthoNOW is the nation’s only orthopedic urgent care franchise. The disruptive healthcare delivery model is both a common sense and common cents approach to specialized orthopedic care on demand. Badia believes that the common thread of likability for OrthoNOW® whether you are a patient, investor or employer is that “Each center is focused on assessment and treatment of a range of orthopedic and sports injuries that include anything related to the foot, ankle, knee, hip, wrist, hand, elbow, shoulder and spine. Additionally, every OrthoNOW center provides patients direct, urgent access to the most recent advances in treatment by a team of orthopedic physicians and orthopedic specialized ancillary providers”.
Irizarry says “According to the CDC there is a 671-billion-dollar injury impact per year on the U.S. economy and NIH Researchers found that the average charge for an emergency room trip is $1,233. That figure is 40 percent higher than the average American rent right now which is $871 per month. The stark economic reality of those numbers allows investors to understand that OrthoNOW® offers a turn-key solution with a comprehensive support system. Employer’s and Human Resource Manager’s appreciate the cost-to-cure savings in terms of both dollars and production hours”.
The fact that the traditional health care delivery model can be disrupted and achieve the Quadruple Aim is evidenced by the success of this visionary team. In 2013, OrthoNOW® began to offer franchises and in 2014 was named a “Top Ten Franchise Opportunity” in healthcare by Entrepreneur Magazine. In 2016, Irizarry garnered the prestigious “40 Under 40” designation from the South Florida Business Journal which recognized the groups multi-million-dollar impact on the local economy and for job creation. To learn more about Dr. Badia, Justin Irizarry or OrthoNOW® log onto www.orthonowcare.com
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