Top 2 Trends Impacting Orthopedic Practices & Patients in 2025

In 2025, orthopedic practices face the dual challenge of integrating high-cost technologies like AI, robotics and 3D solutions while navigating the economic pressures of reduced reimbursements and dwindling collections. By leveraging automation, optimizing revenue cycle processes and educating both patients and staff, practices can turn these challenges into opportunities for growth. These 2025 orthopedic trends demand practices take strategic action to maintain profitability and meet patient expectations. 

1. AI, Robotics and 3D Printing Offer Top-Line Care at Higher Price Tags

Advances in technology like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and 3D printing are revolutionizing orthopedic care. These innovations promise improved surgical outcomes, faster recovery times and enhanced patient satisfaction, but they come at a cost. The global orthopedic robotics market alone is projected to exceed $2 billion by 2028, highlighting the financial investment practices need to stay competitive. 

How Orthopedic Practices Are Getting Ahead

Streamline Financial Operations 

Orthopedic practices must ensure their revenue cycle is optimized to handle the costs associated with cutting-edge technology. Tools like advanced patient check-in kiosks can improve data accuracy, reduce claim rejections and increase point-of-service payments.

As demonstrated by Jordan-Young Institute, a high-volume orthopedic practice seeing 300+ daily visits, implementing self-service kiosks led to remarkable improvements: 95% co-pay collection rates, 97% patient adoption of self-registration kiosks. By automating front-end processes, practices can maintain profitability even while adopting expensive new technologies.

Provide Online Scheduling to Drive Patient Growth

Today’s patients expect the convenience of online scheduling, and the data proves they’ll use it. Center for Sports Medicine & Orthopaedics generates over 680 new appointments every month through their online platform, with 23% coming from new patients. Even more telling – 39% of these bookings happen after hours when the practice phones are closed, capturing revenue that would have been lost with traditional scheduling methods.

For Ortho Florida practices, online scheduling helps fill schedules while cutting staff workloads. Their scheduling teams are no longer overwhelmed with routine booking calls, and the practice never misses a booking opportunity. As their CEO explains:

“We’re seeing a massive number of established patients book online instead of having to call the practice. Care centers are just cranking out schedules for these patients, without staff having to get involved.”

This frees up staff to focus on converting more complex cases and higher-value procedures – exactly what practices need when investing in new technologies like robotics and AI that require a steady stream of patients to deliver ROI.

Leverage Technology for Staff Efficiency

With technology serving as an extension of the workforce, practices can redistribute staff resources to focus on higher-value tasks. For example, automated scheduling systems and smart eligibility verification can reduce administrative burdens, allowing staff to support patient engagement and care.

Emphasize Patient Education

Patients increasingly prioritize providers who use the latest technology. In fact,  90% of patients cite this as a top factor in choosing a provider. Educating patients about the benefits of AI-assisted surgeries and 3D-printed implants can enhance satisfaction and foster trust in your practice.

Showcase Success Stories 

Highlighting patient outcomes and case studies can build confidence among both patients and stakeholders. Sharing real-world examples of successful AI-assisted surgeries or 3D-printed solutions can demonstrate your practice’s commitment to innovation and top-tier care.

By embracing these strategies, orthopedic practices can deliver cutting-edge care while mitigating the financial pressures of adopting advanced technologies.

2. Dwindling Collections and Reimbursements Are Bootstrapping Growth

The economic challenges facing orthopedic practices are significant. Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule are expected to decrease by 2.93% in 2025, adding to already strained financial margins. Coupled with declining collections, practices must innovate to secure consistent revenue streams and ensure long-term growth.

How Orthopedic Practices Are Getting Ahead

Adopt Automation to Boost Collections 

Practices that leverage automated solutions for eligibility verification and patient billing see marked improvements in collection rates. For instance, multi-factor eligibility verification ensures cleaner claims submissions and reduces the risk of denials. High-growth practices have achieved patient collection rates of 95% at check-in by utilizing these technologies.

Enhance Patient Payment Options

Providing patients with private, digital payment options through self-service kiosks is proving critical to overcoming collection challenges. As one director notes,

“Being able to collect upfront payments is a big benefit. It’s impactful that we’re able to take payments in a way that’s automatic, private and digital. No one’s paying by cash or check and our practice gets paid faster.” 

The privacy factor is particularly important. Practices report that,

“patients are more willing to make payments privately, via the kiosk than they are when asked to make payments in face-to-face interactions.” 

Additionally, offering card-on-file capabilities helps speed up the collections process, with practices seeing an increase in patients opting to securely store payment information for future visits. This combination of private payment options and streamlined card-on-file functionality is helping practices maintain healthy cash flow.

Remove Tedious Tasks From Staff Workloads

Patient-led technology is transforming how practices manage administrative workloads. By empowering patients to take ownership of their registration and data entry, practices can simultaneously improve accuracy while freeing staff from repetitive, manual tasks. When patients input and verify their own information through self-service kiosks, they’re more likely to catch and correct errors in real time. This proactive approach significantly reduces downstream issues like claim rejections and billing delays that traditionally create extra work for staff.

“Patients are going to give us their data, whether staff ask or not. With the kiosks, patients can more accurately provide their information, and we can move our staffing resources to more valuable areas, like verification, which helps us get paid faster and save time.” – Jeremy Gibbs, Director of Finance

Instead of staff spending hours on manual data entry and correction, they can focus on higher-value activities that directly impact the practice’s financial health. This shift from data entry to data verification not only improves staff satisfaction by eliminating monotonous tasks but also accelerates the revenue cycle through cleaner claims and faster approvals.

By adopting a proactive approach to financial management, orthopedic practices can protect their bottom lines while continuing to deliver exceptional care. Staying ahead of these 2025 Orthopedic Trends will be vital for success.

Top-Performing Orthopedic Practices Embrace Change for a Profitable Future

Want to dive deeper into the trends shaping the future of orthopedic practices? Download the full guide, 5 Trends Impacting Orthopedic Practices & Profits in 2025, to learn actionable strategies for staying ahead in this rapidly evolving landscape.

As we move into 2025, advancements in technology and economic pressures are reshaping how care is delivered and managed. Clearwave’s innovative solutions are designed to help orthopedic practices tackle these 2025 Orthopedic Trends head-on. From streamlining patient scheduling to enhancing collections, Clearwave offers the tools needed to drive profitability and efficiency. Practices that implement Clearwave’s solutions are better equipped to stay ahead of industry challenges, enabling them to deliver high-quality care and achieve sustainable growth. See how you can take action today and see higher profits tomorrow.