Independent physicians face steeper challenges than ever before in ASC development. Raleigh, N.C.-based Compass Surgical Partners, an ASC company that has built more than 250 centers over the past 30 years, is now working to address those pressures head-on.
Mark Langston, Compass Surgical Partners’ chief development officer, joined Becker’s to discuss the most pressing challenges in ASC development today and how independent centers are at a disadvantage.
Question: What do you see as the most pressing challenges in ASC development today, and how can industry leaders address them effectively?
Mark Langston: I keep coming back to the most common element, which is independence. Independent physicians are really in a squeeze right now. If you have an independent surgery center, it’s tough. If you’re in an independent practice, also tough. If you’re doing both—good luck in today’s world—that’s really, really hard.
When physicians need solutions on the practice and the ASC side, we are working with health systems to create differentiated solutions on both the practice and the ASC. For the ASC we focus on the imperatives in today’s environment: : how do we work within a three-way joint venture to bring you a connected strategy in a metropolitan area? How do we create opportunities to coordinate care between primary care physicians and specialists who are ASC partners to deliver the highest quality of care? How do we remove administrative burden, help you solve for the optimal anesthesia solutions, and proactively work to recruit, hire, and retain the best staff in a tight labor market? When a practice is in need how do we bring a practice solution that works for all of the practice, not just those members seeking a liquidity event. How can we alleviate administrative burden, position the practice strategically for connectivity to the broader system and align on coordination of care through strategic ties to health plans, narrow networks and clinically integrated networks. We want both the practice and the ASC to be positioned for long-term, durable growth and success and we are focused on ways to deliver that through multiple channels while allowing the physicians to maintain their clinical independence. That’s what we are focused on.
Q: Could you characterize why it is so hard to be independent in this current market?
ML: You’re disadvantaged in so many ways. The world is moving to risk-based models, and it’s hard to have the infrastructure to be competitive in a risk-based model as a solo practitioner or even in a small to medium sized practice. You’re disadvantaged in coordination of care with risk-bearing entities and narrow networks, you are severely disadvantaged from a contracting perspective, and you simply can’t afford the infrastructure to be competitive in that environment. Health plans are focused on having large systems in their network, that’s what allows the plans to grow and compete for the premium dollars in a given geography.
Compass brings the opportunity to create alignment inside those models so you’re not disadvantaged as a one-off center or practice and you maintain the clinical independence that physicians desire
