Raleigh, N.C.-based Compass Surgical Partners is betting that the next wave of ASC growth won’t be driven by one-off center deals, but by a repeatable, holistic strategy that health systems and physicians can actually execute.
CEO Mark Langston told Becker’s the ASC industry is experiencing “a lack of creativity across the space,” but he’s not talking about complicated new concepts, he’s talking about simplification.
For Compass, simplification involves turning strategy into something “digestible and executable,” and then building quickly around it.
“Sometimes creativity sounds like you’re overcomplicating it, and it’s quite the opposite,” he said. “The hardest thing to do is make strategy simple, digestible and executable — and that’s our role, because that’s how it gets done.”
That philosophy shapes how Compass approaches ASC growth. Rather than chasing one-off development deals or isolated joint ventures, the company is focused on building geographically dense networks that can scale quickly within a market.
Ms. Langston said Compass succeeds by distilling its value proposition into something repeatable and then executing it rapidly, an approach he believes differentiates the company in a crowded field of ASC partners. The more complicated a strategy is, the harder it is to execute, he said.
That execution-first mindset is also why Mr. Langston expects health system interest in Compass to grow in the coming years. Health systems, he said, are increasingly looking for partners that can help them align with physicians across both the practice and ASC sides of the business, while also addressing broader operational needs tied to surgical services.
“There are times when we’re working with a health system partner where our ability to help them align with physicians — on the practice side and on the ASC side — is differentiation,” he said. “Also what are other needs of a health system, like what are the call coverage needs and how do we assist in developing the full healthcare eco system through the alignment with key physicians in core specialty lines.”
The company frames its strategy as an overall surgical alignment rather than one-off ASCs. This “holistic alignment strategy” gives Compass its edge and is designed to bring value to all parties by coordinating planning, development and execution across a system’s core geography before looking outward.
That ability to help systems grow beyond their home markets, Mr. Langston said, is something few ASC operators have fully figured out. Many partnerships stall when systems try to expand into new regions, because strategies that work locally don’t translate cleanly across geographies.
“Not many people have figured out how to work with a health system partner and get outside of their core market in a way that creates sustained growth across a broader geography — helping them enter new geographies,” he said. “That’s fundamentally different than what most people are able to do.”
Mr. Langston also pointed to Compass’ independence as a strategic advantage. Without competing interests in a market, Compass can operate as a dedicated partner to both health systems and local physicians, building and executing a strategy tailored to a specific geography.
“Our ability to create differentiation around go-to-market strategy — doing that side-by-side with our health system partner, devising the strategy, building the launch, executing on it — I think we’re better at it than most,” he said. “We are building a strategy that is 100% dedicated to that health system, and we provide engagement and advisement based on what their needs are.”
