Question: What will the ASC industry look like in the next 10 years?
Leslie Jebson: Continued evolution in surgical technique and anesthetics will continue to allow for higher-acuity, more complex procedures to migrate towards the outpatient arena. Cost containment pressures from payers will continue to encourage the movement to outpatient or one-day surgical/procedural interventions.
Additionally, staffing and lifestyle considerations will continue to make the ASC environment one of the most desirable from a clinical and clerical support staffing perspective. Underutilized ASCs will introduce more cardiology and cardiovascular procedures. Some legislative changes at state-specific levels will influence the site of care.
Health systems will continue to propagate a hub and spoke model, with the hub being a tertiary program, feeding out to community hospitals, feeding out further to outpatient surgery-clinic facilities. This redistribution of care across a network will drive 15 percent inpatient tertiary growth. The industry will witness further maturation in the consolidation of regional and national management companies.
