Building an OBL Within an IR/DR Group

In this episode, host Dr. Ally Baheti interviews interventional radiologists Dr. Nick Petruzzi and Dr. Don Garbett about their own experiences with pitching and building an office-based lab (OBL) within their existing practices.

First, each doctor describes how they arrived at the idea of an OBL. For Dr. Garbett, the main motivation was a drive to follow up with patients. On the other hand, Dr. Petruzzi was frustrated by the lack of adequate equipment and bureaucratic steps that his hospital required him to follow to request more equipment.

Next, we shift to a discussion about how each of them got their practice partners to philosophically and financially buy into the OBL idea. Both doctors wrote and presented pro formas to delineate the net benefits. Additionally, Dr. Petruzzi proved that an OBL would be profitable by doing a few cases with trial periods for different C-arms. Dr. Garbett worked with his practice’s revenue cycle manager and accountant to verify his financial projections. Both emphasize the importance of group culture and the value of colleagues who are open-minded to expansion.

Finally, we talk about unforeseen obstacles that have risen on their OBL journeys so far. Dr. Petruzzi describes his conversations with hospital systems, in which he had to advocate for IRs to be listed as referring doctors. Dr. Garbett cites concerns about billing and coding, which can be very complex for a third-party group to handle. We end with updates from each guest about the current status of their OBL and their next steps.