As surgical cases continue to shift out of the hospital and into outpatient facilities, physician offices have become increasingly common settings for less-invasive procedures.
Here are three recent developments related to the rise in office-based procedures and the regulations surrounding them:
1. Some ASC leaders have expressed concern over the rise in office-based procedures, Jeffrey Flynn, COO of Gramercy Healthcare and president of the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, told Becker’s that ASCs should focus more on complex cases rather than worrying about lower-acuity procedures migrating to physicians’ offices.
“Cataracts eventually will be, in the next two or three years, in the office-based setting,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a thing to be concerned about. I think we embrace the higher acuity procedures as we bring those to us.”
2. Medicare’s 2026 Physician Fee Schedule included a 14% reimbursement bump for office-based procedures, including endoscopy. Some states, including Illinois, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin also plan to introduce programs to support the move to office-based endoscopy, according to a Nov. 21 editorial in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
3. In January 2025, Massachusetts authorized licensure requirements for office-based surgical centers performing liposuction or using more than minimal sedation.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.