Becker’s Healthcare Podcast · 2026-07-01 · 6 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
42 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Dr. Clay Dorenkamp brings a dual perspective as both an orthopedic spine surgeon and chief technology officer at Michigan Orthopedic Center, a 11-physician group in Lansing, Michigan performing high-volume spine and total joint procedures. His organization is addressing a critical operational challenge: scaling back office staff and patient communication capabilities to meet rising demand while physicians focus on clinical care. Rather than pursuing flashy AI applications for diagnosis, Dorenkamp advocates for technology deployment in unglamorous but high-impact areas - patient engagement, back office automation, and payer management. He's working with a custom development partner to build solutions tailored to his practice's specific workflows. Dorenkamp stresses that insurers are rapidly deploying their own technology for denial management and care evaluation, meaning practices must move decisively or risk falling behind. His key insight: successful technology adoption requires physician confidence, organizational alignment across leadership, and clear communication of ROI to justify resource allocation. This resonates with ASC operators and group practice leaders wrestling with the same operational bottlenecks and payer pressures.
Practices should prioritize back office automation, patient communication and engagement, and payer relationship management through improved revenue cycle operations - not AI-driven clinical diagnosis, which he argues is not where medicine needs help today.
Off-the-shelf solutions often don't fit specific organizational needs; Michigan Orthopedic Center is working with a development partner to build a custom product because existing solutions didn't adequately address their patient communication and back office challenges.
Keeping adequate back office staff to meet increasing patient demands while effectively communicating with and engaging patients, which the group is addressing through targeted technology deployment.
Insurers are rapidly deploying technology for denial management and care evaluation, so practices and hospitals must move decisively to adopt their own operational technology or risk being left behind.
Organizational alignment and effective communication across leadership to demonstrate why technology matters for patient care and delivers meaningful ROI is essential to successful deployment.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode touches on legitimate operational challenges (back office staffing, patient communication, payer relationships) but lacks depth and specific examples. Most claims are broad observations (e.g., 'insurers are rapidly deploying technology,' 'we need help managing our back office') without concrete data, metrics, or novel frameworks. The advice on alignment and communication is standard leadership wisdom.
our biggest problem is dedicating the amount of people and resources to what is really needed in our practice
insurers are are rapidly deploying technology to help them manage their denial management
The core thesis - that practices need to adopt technology to stay competitive, especially around back office operations and payer relationships - is well-established industry consensus. The pushback against AI replacing clinicians is reasonable but widely echoed. There is no contrarian insight or first-principles thinking; the conversation validates existing orthodoxy without challenging or reframing it.
the leaders who are thriving are the ones who saw it coming
we have to make sure things are safe for our patients, I don't think technology today is ready to replace the clinician
Dr. Dorenkamp is a practicing orthopedic spine surgeon with CTO responsibilities at a 11-physician group, giving him relevant operational credentials. However, the interview does not establish scale, revenue, or depth of his technology deployment experience. He is a solid practitioner but not a recognized leader in healthcare technology, digital transformation, or ASC operations - more of a capable local operator than a standout guest.
I'm a orthopedic spine surgeon at Michigan Orthopedic Center in Lansing, Michigan
I also function as the organization's chief technology officer
The episode is almost entirely devoid of concrete examples, named companies, metrics, timelines, or dollar figures. References to payer technology and back office challenges remain abstract. The mention of a custom product development is never named, quantified, or detailed. Statements like 'high volume practice' and 'about 95% of my practice is spine surgery' are the only measurable details provided.
We actually started this process about a year ago, and a lot of solutions didn't exist
I work in a group of 11 orthopedic surgeons through a variety of orthopedic specialties
The host asks logical, open-ended questions aligned to leadership challenges, but rarely probes deeper or challenges claims. When Dr. Dorenkamp mentions developing a custom product or making bold assertions about technology readiness, the interviewer does not dig into specifics, ROI, timelines, or competitive differentiation. The interview reads as a standard conference chat without sharp follow-ups or productive tension.
How did these moments challenge your assumptions, and what do they change about how you approach decision making?
when you think about the forces reshaping health care right now, where do you believe leaders need to be more decisive?
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
This episode recorded live at the Becker's 23rd Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC + The Future of Spine Conference features Dr. Clay Dorenkamp, Orthopedic Surgeon, Michigan Orthopedic Center. He discusses leveraging technology to improve patient communication, reduce administrative burdens, and support revenue cycle operations, while emphasizing the importance of leadership alignment and clinician oversight as healthcare organizations adopt new AI-driven tools.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
- Just five years ago, a big portion of - what's now being done in ambulatory surgery centers - wasn't considered outpatient work. The cases have changed, - the tech has changed, the patient expectations have - changed, and the leaders who are thriving are - the ones who saw it coming. - Becker's twenty third annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain - Management Driven ASC Conference - exists for exactly that kind of forward looking - practitioner. - Here, Becker's hosts more than 1,000 attendees, 275 - physician and ASC speakers, and three days of - sessions that move between the clinical, the operational, - and the strategic, and the CME credits to - show for - it.
Join us June eleventh through the thirteenth - at the Swiss Hotel in Chicago, and come - ready to think about what's next. Register on - our events page at beckershospitalreview.com - by clicking on the events tab in the - upper right. - This is Gracelyn Keller with the Buckers Healthcare - Podcast, and we are recording live at the - twenty third annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain Management - Driven ASC Conference.
- I'm currently joined by doctor Clay Dornkamp, who - is an orthopedic surgeon at Michigan Orthopedic - Center. - So thank you so much for joining me - today. I'd love to have you start by - briefly introducing yourself and telling us more about - your role and the scope of your organization, - including what is currently commanding most of your - attention as leader. - Yeah.
Thanks for having me. This conference has - been great. - This is actually my third year attending and - speaking at the conference, so I always enjoy - the sessions and and the collaboration and and - discussion amongst both the industry partners as well - as other organizations within the space. For me, - specifically, I'm a orthopedic spine surgeon, like like - you said, at Michigan Orthopedic Center in Lansing, - Michigan.
- I focus primarily on spine surgery. So about - 95% of my practice is spine surgery with - a little bit of, orthopedic traumatology mixed in. - I work in a group of 11 orthopedic - surgeons through a variety of orthopedic specialties. - We run a very high volume total joints, - spine, - etcetera practice.
And then also in that, I - also, - function as the organization's chief technology officer, so, - instrumental at validating - and implementing new technology and tools and helping - make sure we're staying up to date with - the current technologies. - Beautiful. - Well, in a year marked by rapid change, - what recent decision or pivot required the most - leadership conviction from you, particularly when it came - to aligning people resources or capabilities? - Yeah.
So our our biggest problem, like, I'm - sure a lot of organizations probably have, is - dedicating the amount of or amount of people - to the and resources to what is really - needed in our practice. - Really, our main goal as physicians is to - be there and care for our patients. - And - one of the things we've really struggled with - is keeping our back office staff to meet - the increasing patient demands - and being able to effectively communicate and engage - with our patients.
So that's really been kind - of where we've been focusing on this year - is, - exploring and and, - working on deploying technology to help us better - communicate with our patients, answer questions more efficient - efficiently, - and really start to use technology to help - improve our patient care. - And how did these moments challenge your assumptions, - and what do they change about how you - approach decision making, talent, or organizational readiness? - This is a great question because there's so - many solutions out there.
- We actually started this process about a year - ago, and a lot of solutions didn't exist. - So we are actually working with a company - to develop a product to fit our solution. - And, - ultimately, like, what it really challenged me on - is that - this product is gonna be for my patients. - Right?
I have to be their one sitting - there across the patients and making sure that - it it works well and it it functions - well and it's safe for my patients to - use. And that's been, like, one of the - biggest - challenges for me is to feel confident - in in in having something that I can - trust to to deliver the care that I - feel I my patients deserve and the standard - I wanna be accountable for. - Certainly. - And and shifting gears slightly, when you think - about the forces reshaping health care right now, - where do you believe leaders need to be - more decisive, especially when balancing speed, risk, and - having the right teams in place?
- That is the million dollar question in health - care right now because - insurers are are rapidly deploying technology to help, - them manage their - denial management and evaluate - care. And I think - practices and hospitals really have to be on - the forefront of that too, or we're gonna - be left behind. - So, - really, we have to, one, we have to - make sure things are safe for our patients. - I don't think technology today is ready to - replace the clinician in the room.
- There's a lot of headlines that always, - you know, make it sound like, - you know, CHAT GBT or CLOD or something - is better at diagnosing a patient than a - doctor is, when in reality, like, that's not - where medicine needs help today. We need help - managing our back office and making sure we're - getting patients through the system effectively and efficiently, - making sure that we're meeting their needs, we're - not missing - urgent matters. And then, also, we need help - on the payer and - position - relationship side where we can more effectively communicate - with the payers and decrease the operational burden - it takes to actually drive the revenue cycle - management through our through our practices.
- And as uncertainty has become the norm, what - leadership habit or mindset has been most critical - in keeping your organization and people moving forward? - I think it's alignment. If only one person - is pushing something, you're never gonna get anywhere - as even in a medium sized orthopedic clinic - like ours, - especially in larger organizations. - You have to be able to communicate effectively - with the leadership - to show why this is important and show - why this is gonna improve patient care and - ultimately give you the a meaningful ROI in - the future.
So I think alignment and communication - are probably the biggest leadership skills in deploying - these. - Well, doctor Dornkamp, thank you so much for - joining me today on the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. - And, again, we are recording live at the - twenty third annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain Management - Driven ASC Conference.
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