Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. If you would like to contribute to our next question, please email Paige Haeffele at phaeffele@beckershealthcare.com.
Question: What do ASCs need most right now?
Dr. Kimberly Cantees: These are unprecedented times in healthcare. Hospital profit margins for 2022 were historically low, and 2023 is not forecasted to improve. However, as we move to a more value-based/patient centered experience in healthcare in general, it makes sense to move high revenue-generating cases from the hospital to ambulatory surgery centers for the “patient experience.” This could include traditional inpatient procedures such as joint replacement, minor spine surgery, urologic procedures, and gynecologic and general surgery procedures, to name a few.
In order for an ambulatory surgery center to be successful in this next phase, two things will be necessary. First, a review of all local, state and national requirements for care has to be reviewed and in some cases challenged in order to care for these patients outside of the hospital. Secondly, as more complex cases are performed in ambulatory surgical centers, the individual patient’s stay might exceed the traditional work hours of care in an ambulatory surgical center. This will be a shift in the labor paradigm for those individuals working in this environment.
