Tight Margins, Staff Burnout, Lost Patients:
How AI Is Already Solving Urology's Biggest Headaches

A practical guide to what's working in AI, and what to avoid

Join your LUGPA peers on this Innovation Theater program, Tight Margins, Staff Burnout, Lost Patients: How AI Is Already Solving Urology's Biggest Headaches, originally presented on July 09 at 01:00 PM ET.

Independent urology practices are being squeezed harder than ever: tight margins, burnt-out staff who are hard to keep, and patients lost when calls go unanswered or referrals sit in a queue.

AI is already being used to solve these problems. It answers inbound calls, clears fax and referral backlogs, scrubs billing claims, chases prior auths, and reduces the admin load that burns out good staff. But with hundreds of vendors making bold promises, knowing where to start (and who to trust) is its own problem.

Jason Guagenti, COO of Central Ohio Urology Group (COUG), will share what his group has actually tried, what worked, and what didn't. Pete Shalek will bring a builder’s perspective on what separates AI that delivers from AI that disappoints.

Moderated by LUGPA CEO Celeste Kirschner. You'll leave knowing which problems AI solves first, which promises to ignore, and where to focus next.

In this presentation, you will:

• Learn where Minnesota Urology has deployed AI in its operations, from billing claims to voice calls, and what the results look like
• Understand which AI workflows to tackle first based on your practice's biggest operational pain, and how to scale without overhauling everything at once
• Walk away with the specific questions to ask any AI vendor, from human oversight to Day 1 ROI commitments, so you can separate AI that delivers from AI that disappoints

About the speakers:

Jason Guagenti
COO of Central Ohio Urology Group (COUG)

Jason Guagenti brings more than two decades of healthcare industry leadership to Central Ohio Urology Group. Mr. Guagenti was most recently with Riverside Radiology and Interventional Associates as practice leader for a group of more than 120 radiologists serving 35 hospital and 100 non-hospital organizations throughout Ohio and Iowa. His background includes years of experience in the OhioHealth system, most recently at OhioHealth Corporate as Senior System Director of Food and Nutrition, with responsibility for all 10 OhioHealth hospitals and many of the ancillary food and nutrition locations throughout the system.

During his tenure at OhioHealth, Mr. Guagenti was part of select group invited to participate in EXCEL, a leadership development program for rising executives. Mr. Guagenti previously served as Senior Director of Operations at Dublin Methodist Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital where he had direct leadership responsibility for Surgical Services and Endoscopy, and indirect leadership of all of the Support Services at these two campuses. Mr. Guagenti created an Innovation Pathway for associates and physicians at both hospitals to bring forth creative ideas and develop them. He was also previously the Director of Radiology at Riverside Methodist Hospital and chaired the OhioHealth Radiation Safety and Quality Committee focused on standardizing and improving quality in radiology throughout the system. He also served on the steering committee for the Neuroscience Center addition at Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Mr. Guagenti began his career as a radiologic technologist at Riverside Methodist Hospital and held various management positions there before being promoted to Director at Grady Memorial Hospital, also part of the OhioHealth system. A graduate of The Ohio State University, he received a bachelor’s degree in Allied Medicine. Mr. Guagenti also earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from Franklin University. He is a member in the American Society of Radiology Technologists and Association for Medical Imaging Management. Mr. Guagenti is a featured speaker at national conferences on topics such as influencing people and process improvement centered on associate and patient satisfaction

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Pete Shalek

AI Expert, CEO of Valerie Health
Pete Shalek is a two-time health tech founder and operator. His previous company, AbleTo, was acquired by Optum for $600 million; before that, he co-founded Joyable and served as Chief Product Officer at both AbleTo and Stellar Health. An early investor in OpenAI, Pete has been working at the intersection of AI and healthcare for many years, and is regularly asked to speak on its application to provider groups.

Pete's conviction over the last 20+ years is that care is best delivered in the community. His goal is to make independent practice the easiest, highest quality, and most profitable place to deliver care. That's the founding principle of his company, Valerie Health.

Unlike most healthcare AI companies, Valerie works exclusively with independent groups. He believes they deserve the tools to thrive, not just survive.
Pete holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Columbia University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Celeste G. Kirschner, MHSA, CAE
CEO of LUGPA

Celeste G. Kirschner’s career spans nearly 40 years in association management. Since 2015 she has served as the chief executive officer of LUGPA. Prior to joining LUGPA, Ms. Kirschner held leadership positions in several medical and health care associations, including serving as the secretary to the American Medical Association’s CPT Editorial Panel. Earning her BS from Loyola University in Chicago and a master’s in health services administration from the University of St. Francis, Ms. Kirschner has authored and edited more than 80 books throughout her career. Ms. Kirschner is a Certified Association Executive (CAE).

This Innovation Theater webinar is a paid program; LUGPA is not liable for the information presented.
Accuracy of the information presented is the responsibility of the advertiser.