He predicted a drastic drop in the number of surgeons who practice at surgery centers, saying that the normal retirement rate of 15 percent over the next 5 years might increase to as much as 40 percent. “I see it all the time, physicians saying, ‘I’m getting out,'” he said. “The impetus is health reform.” The drop in ASC surgeons will be accompanied by a nationwide shortage of physicians overall, he said. As 32 million Americans receive health insurance for the first time, providers will be overburdened with new patients seeking care.
In order to combat these changes, as well as declining opportunities with private payors and decreased Medicare reimbursements, Dr. Lambert said ASCs will have to increase their lobbying and fundraising efforts. The ASC Advocacy Committee, founded in Aug. 2009, is lobbying the federal government for higher ASC reimbursements and asking for studies that prove ASC outcomes are better than hospitals’.
According to Dr. Lambert, there are also a few ways that ASCs lose money that can be avoided. He cited passive planning for profitability — allowing your ASC to lose money just because it’s part of a long-term financial plan — as one of the reasons ASCs gradually fail. “Some facilities see themselves on the three-year development plan and just because they’re losing money the first 2.5 years, if that’s according to their plan, they feel like they’re doing okay,” he said. “If you spend that amount of time losing money, chances are you’re at serious risk of never turning the corner.”
He recommended being financially savvy by cutting loose deadwood physicians and knowing when to stop borrowing money.
Dr. Lambert is a board-certified ophthalmologist and earned his MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. Prior to the founding of ASCOA, Dr. Lambert developed and owned three ambulatory surgical centers, including the first eye ASC in New England. He is currently responsible for business development at ASCOA.
Read more coverage on Dr. Brent Lambert.
–Decline in Payments Posted: Q&A with Dr. Brent Lambert of ASCOA
Read more coverage on notable surgery center leaders.
–ASC Industry Leader to Know: Donna Slosburg of the ASC Quality Collaboration
–ASC Industry Leader to Know: Dr. Steven Robinson of Riverside Outpatient Surgery Center
