vOrthopedics
Sports med, spine, joint,
all coordinated upstream of the OR.
Orthopedics is mostly run upstream of the surgical case. Imaging coordination, pre-op clearance, DME documentation, and surgical scheduling are the workflows that quietly determine how many cases per surgeon per week the practice can actually deliver. Cara sits in those.
Sub-practices
Where our work tends to sit.
Sports Medicine
Sports-medicine practices with high-volume imaging and injection workflows. MSK imaging coordination, image-guided injection scheduling, and athletic patient communication.
Spine Surgery
Spine practices balancing conservative care with surgical interventions. Conservative-care milestones, pre-op clearance, and surgical pathway tracking.
Joint Replacement
Hip, knee, and shoulder replacement programs. Pre-op education, surgical bundling for Medicare programs, and post-op rehab coordination.
Pediatric Orthopedics
Pediatric ortho with parent-facing scheduling and school-aware planning. Communication and scheduling tuned to families and school calendars.
MSK Imaging Operations
Embedded MSK imaging operations with high-volume MRI and X-ray throughput. Scheduling, prior authorization, and result-routing workflows.
MSO-Backed Ortho Platforms
Multi-site ortho groups under MSO operating structures. Standardized intake, centralized RCM, and tuck-in playbooks for new practice acquisitions.
Example engagements
Patterns we keep seeing.
Imaging coordination and prior auth
MRI and advanced imaging prior auth handled end-to-end, including image-order routing, payer-specific criteria, and the appeals workflow when imaging gets denied for what is clearly an indication.
Pre-op clearance and surgical scheduling
Pre-op medical clearance coordinated with the referring PCP, anesthesia, and the ASC or hospital. Surgical scheduling that respects block time, equipment availability, and surgeon preferences.
DME documentation and dispense
Documentation for braces, slings, walking boots, and post-op equipment that meets payer requirements the first time. Dispense workflow that does not require a separate trip for the patient.
Post-op rehab coordination
PT referrals routed to in-network or owned PT operations, with progress check-ins and outcome tracking that feeds back to the surgeon.
Common questions
What partners ask before
they get on the call.
- Which orthopedic EHRs does Cara work with?
- Phoenix Ortho (ModMed), eClinicalWorks, Epic, and AdvancedMD are the most common. Cara integrates against the EHR's API and the surgical scheduling system, which is sometimes separate.
- How does the imaging prior auth work?
- The agent pulls the chart, identifies the indication, checks against the payer's coverage criteria, drafts the authorization, and submits. When the indication does not cleanly match published criteria, it routes to the practice's authorization coordinator with the chart context attached.
- Can Cara support a CJR or BPCI bundled-payment program?
- Yes. Episode tracking, post-acute coordination, and outcome reporting are common patterns for bundled-payment programs. Cara writes the data structures the program reports against.
- What about a PE-backed multi-site ortho group?
- Common ground. Standardized intake, centralized RCM, tuck-in integration playbooks, and diligence-ready data are the patterns we see most often in PE-backed ortho rollups.
“An ortho surgeon is paid for cases. Everything upstream of the OR either supports that or competes with it. The job of the operational stack is to clear the path.”