Rising costs and specialty org growth | Chris Poole, CEO, Hatch | Ep. 1

Rising costs and shrinking reimbursements are creating severe margin compression for specialty healthcare practices. To survive and expand, organizations must focus on sustainability. Joe Zboch sits down with Chris Poole to discuss the macro forces impacting operations and access leaders today.ㅤThey outline how practices are balancing top-line volume with minimizing operational expenses to improve patient yield. Chris explains why relying on manual paperwork and throwing bodies at administrative problems is no longer a viable path. The conversation points directly at the top of the funnel: the highly fragmented referral process.ㅤOperations leaders will hear exactly why up to half of all referrals never convert to appointments. Fixing this leakage removes administrative bloat and builds stronger relationships with referring physicians. The discussion provides clear focus areas for teams working to bring down operational costs while driving patient volume.ㅤ👤 Guest BioChris Poole is the CEO of Hatch and a three-time healthcare CEO. He is an industry veteran with experience in venture capital and health system innovation. Chris started his career as an accountant before moving into healthcare investing and operations. A decade ago, he founded a virtual care company where he learned firsthand the importance of removing administrative bloat to improve both the practice bottom line and the patient experience.ㅤ📌 What We CoverOvercoming margin compression by balancing top-line volume with the complexity of patient yield.Moving away from throwing bodies at manual tasks to create sustainable front-office models.Treating the patient referral process as a strategic business function to capture critical consumer insights.Identifying where patient leakage happens to prevent up to half of all referrals from falling through the net.Differentiating your specialty practice through evidence-based site selection and improved patient convenience.Strengthening relationships with referring physicians by modernizing the top of the funnel.ㅤ🔗 Resources MentionedHatchStarbucks: location selection case study