Atlanta, GA, December 18, 2025 - Written by Daniel Goldberg, SVP of sales of growth.
Over the last 15 years, I have spoken with hundreds of orthopedic surgeons who have shared the same concern: They need more new patients to remain successful in independent practice. Whether they are battling declining surgical volumes, increased competition from health systems or shifting referral patterns, the question they ask is always the same: "What is the fastest way to grow?"
They want to know how to turn things around quickly, how to fill their clinics and how to regain momentum in a market that feels increasingly stacked against them. And my response has never changed:
"Do you have a demand problem, or do you have an access problem?"
This is usually met with a pause and then an inevitable reply: "I'm not really sure. Does it matter?"
Understanding the difference between demand and access is the most important first step in driving real, sustained new-patient growth.
Most assume it is a demand problem and not enough patients are seeking musculoskeletal care in their area. But data has consistently shown that the need for care is continuously growing as the population ages and patients want to be proactive so they can remain active in their later years. For the younger population, injuries are consistent, and these patients share the same desire to get back to the activities they enjoy.
Changing patient expectations
In the current competitive healthcare landscape, clinical excellence, outcomes and high-quality care are essential. Highlighting expertise and a multidisciplinary approach are marketing tools that help drive demand. However, a patient's ability to access this high-quality care often defines the growth trajectory of a practice.
Unlike other specialties where symptoms can be managed or tolerated, orthopedic patients often have mobility issues, escalating discomfort and challenges with activities of daily living. Long appointment wait times or complex scheduling processes often exacerbate frustrations and drive patients, along with their downstream revenue, to competing practices or hospital systems.
Furthermore, patients are consumers of not only healthcare but banking, retail, travel and other essential services. Each of these industries has migrated seamlessly to mobile platforms where people can deposit a check right from their phone, buy a pair of shoes without trying them on or book a flight without having to call and speak to an airline agent.
However, if that same consumer wants to schedule an appointment for their unrelenting knee pain, they are still often forced to navigate a complex phone tree, wait on hold for upward of 10 minutes and then give demographic and insurance information to an agent who is typing that information into an EMR in real time. The contrast between their healthcare experience and the digital experiences they enjoy everywhere else is glaringly obvious.
A significant shift is already underway, as more than 60% of patients say they prefer to schedule appointments online, and nearly half indicate they would be willing to switch providers for easier scheduling options. In musculoskeletal care, in which patients often face repetitive visits and care coordination across multiple providers (imaging, physical therapists, surgeons, etc.), convenience is not a luxury: It is an expectation.
United Musculoskeletal Partners access initiatives
In late 2024, UMP's strategy and operations teams concentrated on optimizing physician templates to expand access across all partner practices. Each UMP practice operates in environments that are both highly competitive and becoming increasingly consolidated (Georgia, Texas and Colorado). Early in the year, the consensus among leadership was clear: Improving access would be one of the most powerful levers for increasing market share and driving continued growth.
Once these template optimizations were in place, UMP implemented online scheduling platforms across its partner practice websites, creating a streamlined digital front door for patients. The assumption was straightforward: Highlighting high-quality care, greater appointment availability and simplified scheduling would translate directly into higher new patient volumes.
The results validated that strategy. Predictably, the enhanced scheduling tools were met with overwhelming patient adoption across all markets. In the first year of the program, new patient volume rose substantially, with online scheduling accounting for a significant share of the growth. To date, more than 60% of all appointments booked online are new patients, demonstrating that the platform is effectively capturing demand at all levels of the funnel. Even more compelling is the payer mix, with more than 60% of these online-scheduled new patients being commercially insured, further highlighting the value of this digital access pathway to meet the expectations of the modern patient.
A secondary benefit was the decompressing of the call center. With fewer repeat inbound calls to schedule, staff could focus on referral triage, imaging scheduling and other ancillary services.
Leveraging access to accelerate demand
Once access challenges have been remedied, a practice can now be in a position to utilize these systems to drive patient growth.
For orthopedic practices seeking to strengthen their market position, access must be embedded into every level of strategy:
- Digital marketing: Promote online scheduling within ads, website pages and social campaigns.
- Referral outreach: Communicate access guarantees to PCPs, urgent care partners and sports programs.
Ensuring that access messaging is front and center for patients and referring providers will help allow new growth into one's practice, as many patients' first priority is often convenience.