Surgeons will make up a smaller share of ASC owners as the industry steadily grows, according to Surgical Directions CEO Jeff Peters.
The specialty healthcare consulting firm executive was quoted in an article by Worldwide Surgical Solutions CEO James Hamilton.
Four takeaways:
1. Mr. Peters expects the gradual movement away from hospital settings and toward ASCs to continue. However, as current physician owners mature and age, he predicts that ASC ownership models will change.
2. Mr. Peters believes that in the future, most ASCs will be affiliated with health systems rather than owned by surgeons. With current ASC owners approaching retirement, there will be a gap that younger physicians don't seem likely to fill.
3. Younger physicians are less inclined to buy out ASCs because they "don't have as much interest in taking financial risk, and more and more young surgeons are being employed by hospitals and health systems," Mr. Peters said.
4. Regardless of ownership structure, ASCs will continue to gain market share, Mr. Hamilton concluded.