While the healthcare industry is consolidating, the ASC industry remains mostly fragmented — with some ASC chains focusing on smaller ASCs rather than accumulating substantial market share.
Alfonso del Granado, administrator and CEO of Lubbock, Texas-based Covenant High Plains Surgery Centers, recently joined Becker's to discuss why he doesn't expect ASC acquisitions to increase this year.
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Question: What healthcare trends are you wary of?
Alfonso del Granado: I don't see a significant uptick in ASC acquisition this year, though we may continue to see consolidation among management companies. I cannot speak to the acquisition side, but from the ASC management perspective I see significant growing pains in setting up management and communication systems, integrating the hodgepodge of an ASC's existing software applications with the management company, for example. The result is labor-intensive manual reporting at some of the largest management companies, which takes away time that administrators need to focus on service quality and growth and increases bureaucratic workload upstream. It would not surprise me if this is one of the factors contributing to the slowdown in consolidation.