2024 has been a transformative and rewarding year for Boston Hernia, filled with significant milestones and new opportunities.
Transition to Direct Specialty Care
Our biggest news this year was transitioning to Direct Specialty Care. This change ensures we can continue to provide the exceptional care that patients and employers trust us for. In 2023, we faced an existential challenge, unsure if we could stay independent or if we’d need to sell the practice to a larger non-profit or for-profit organization. With the help of Dr. Michael Havig, CEO and Founder of Healthme, we developed a sustainable model for value-based ambulatory hernia and abdominal core healthcare. For more details, check out their blog.
Commitment to Quality Care and Education
By stabilizing our practice, we’ve been able to maintain our high-quality care while dedicating more time to teaching and collaboration. Highlights from this year include:
- Dr. Reinhorn continued his work with the American Board of Surgery, crafting and refining oral exam questions for new surgeons seeking Board Certification.
- Both Dr. Reinhorn and Dr. Fullington spoke at national conferences in Boston and Denver, focusing on value-based care and strategies for reducing opioid use.
- Together, they also published peer-reviewed articles and opinion pieces on improving hernia care, reducing opioid prescriptions, and lowering healthcare costs.
Supporting Our Community and Sharing Knowledge
We’re incredibly grateful to our patients and self-funded employers for choosing Boston Hernia. Your support allows us to give back to the community and share our expertise. This year, we donated our time and a portion of our profits to a local non-profit dedicated to improving the caregiver-patient relationship. We hosted surgeons from across the U.S. for educational experiences. Some highlights:
- We welcomed a hernia surgeon from the University of Washington and Dr. Anthony Iacco, a renowned robotic hernia surgeon from Michigan. Both came to learn our Fast Recovery Open Pre-Peritoneal Inguinal Hernia repair and the Shouldice repair.
- In October, we hosted a senior surgical resident from Massachusetts General Hospital for a “Mini Fellowship” in Open Pre-Peritoneal Inguinal Hernia repair.
- Next month, we’ll be hosting surgeons from California and Ohio.
These visits reflect a growing interest in cost-effective alternatives to robotic platforms for ambulatory hernia surgery.
Looking to the Future
In December 2023, our partner, the Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative, transitioned to a new vendor for the national hernia quality database. This caused a temporary pause in quality data reporting, which we expect to resolve by Q2 2025. Once this is sorted, we’ll resume publishing our outcomes.
Through our direct care model, we’re committed to delivering the highest quality care while fostering an environment for collaboration and education. Thank you for being part of our journey in 2024—we’re excited about what’s to come in the year ahead!