According to VMG Health’s “ASCs in 2024: A Year in Review” report, the shift of procedures to the office-based setting has been driven by advances in minimally invasive technologies and cost-containment strategies in ophthalmology, dermatology, pain management and minor orthopedic procedures.
Some ASC leaders view the rise of office-based procedures as an emerging threat in the industry.
Glen DeBrueys, CEO of East Brunswick, N.J.-based AmericanSurgisite, recently joined Becker’s to share why he’s not worried about office-based procedures.
Glenn DeBrueys: There’s two reasons why I don’t think it will ever really take off.
The first one is that I don’t think any state in America would ignore the standard of care and what you have to have related to safety. And that burdens a small practitioner from doing something in his or her office. If there is a provider in a marketplace that has OR capacity and that has reasonable sense as a business person, I could always probably make a more attractive offer to somebody to become part of my surgery center. I could probably find a reasonable spot to bring somebody in as an owner at the end of the day and the return on investment would be better for that surgeon.
[The second reason] is the bureaucratic nightmare it is to run these places over time, and it is, trust me. They don’t [want to] have to deal with it on their practice level.
If somebody’s in a geography where there’s only one other surgery center in town and the state laws are prohibitive towards opening a surgery center, then this might be an avenue. I just don’t see it having a big impact on the business in America.
