Raleigh, N.C.-based Compass Surgical Partners is rethinking how ASCs can succeed as more procedures move to outpatient settings and hospitals, payers and physicians align around efficiency and lower costs.
John Hammack, chief financial officer of Compass, said that alignment has made the ASC space one of the most attractive sectors in healthcare.
Payers are steering procedures toward lower-cost sites of care; physicians prefer the control and convenience ASCs provide; and patients are increasingly choosing them for affordability. Health systems, Mr. Hammack said, are now recognizing that the shift is inevitable and looking for ways to participate.
Mr. Hammack joined Compass to help accelerate that growth. He said the company’s success depends on building a finance organization that drives strategy, not just accounting.
Finance, he added, should serve as “a catalyst for opportunity,” working hand in hand with operations and development to improve performance across the portfolio.
Rather than simply reporting results, Mr. Hammack’s team partners with ASC leaders to identify trends and act on them. That collaboration, he said, is built around transparency.
“We’re not just sending out scorecards,” he said. “We’re walking through the opportunities we see so that we’re aligned on priorities.”
Compass tracks key indicators such as case volume, net revenue per case, labor utilization and supply costs, benchmarking performance against industry standards. Operational efficiency — from scheduling to turnaround times — is another focus.
“We make sure we’re focused on getting that efficiency to help everybody,” Mr. Hammack said.
Each center meets monthly with Compass leaders to review results, discuss challenges and agree on improvement goals. The goal, Mr. Hammack said, is shared accountability and clear alignment around what matters most for patients, physicians and staff.
Looking ahead, he sees two dynamics reshaping the ASC landscape: migration of higher-acuity cases and anesthesia shortages.
Compass, he said, is staying proactive by maintaining strong coverage relationships and preparing its centers for newly approved outpatient procedures, such as cardiovascular ablations.
ASCs that define a clear specialty focus will have a competitive edge.
“A successful ASC has a very clear specialization profile,” he said. “You want specialties that have enough scale to justify their presence. Being thoughtful about that is important for success.”
By strategically expanding its partnerships with health systems and physicians, the company’s momentum continues to build.
“There’s high demand for what we do,” he said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to move at a faster pace and get to a bigger scale than we’ve seen historically.”
