At the 21st Annual Becker's ASC Conference in Chicago on Oct. 23, Robin Fowler, MD, chairman and medical director of Atlanta, Ga.-based Interventional Management Services, and Stephen Rosenbaum, CEO of Interventional Management Services, presented four strategies for successful ASC expansion across regional markets.
Interventional Management Services is a physician-owned ASC management and development company that provides management services with a physician-focused strategy. Using Interventional Management Services and the expansion of the Interventional Spine and Pain Management Center throughout the Atlanta area as a case study, Dr. Fowler and Mr. Rosenbaum offered insight on regional expansion from a business, physician-minded perspective.
1. Encouraging the physicians' stake in the ASC increases incentives. "We very much believe in the physician ownership model. Physicians drive the business of our centers, so we want them to be invested. They'll have greater incentives," said Dr. Fowler. "What's different about our industry is that care is the product. Physicians aren't just employees."
2. Organization can influence outcomes. According to Dr. Fowler, maintaining a system of organization within an ASC and across multiple locations as an ASC expands is critical. In the face of change, whether that is changes to staff, the economy or other factors, maintaining regularity through sustained systems of organization will help keep everyone in sync. "I've learned one thing," Dr. Fowler said. "The more organized you are, the better it comes out. We're always looking to optimize the process, and once we get that under control, then we can think about expansion."
3. Ensure expansion makes sense for your ASC. Dr. Fowler opened Interventional Spine and Pain Management in 2008 with one partner, and since then, the ASC as expanded to multiple locations throughout the Atlanta area. The expansion of the ASC to different sites was largely achieved through acquisitions. "One of the reasons acquisitions have been so appropriate is because the companies are complimentary. There are certain things they do very well and certain things we do very well. Together, we've been able to optimize the business," Mr. Rosenbaum said.
4. Transparency is key. Within an organization, it is critical that upper management be transparent about information with physicians. Encouraging physicians to take a stake in the ASC will only work if there is a sense of transparency and trust among the physicians, Mr. Rosenbaum explained. Additionally, improving transparency also helps the natural restructuring of the management from a hierarchy to a more horizontal system in which everyone is on the same page.