One such executive is Joseph Ruffolo, CEO of Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Memorial Medical Center. The hospital recently entered into a partnership with Buffalo-based UBMD Orthopedics & Sports Medicine to have the practice provide sports medicine services to Niagara Falls-based Niagara University’s sports program. The move was a strategic one to establish relationships with the group’s surgeons and have them use the hospital for their orthopedic procedures.
The hospital’s orthopedic service line has grown 10 percent year over year, Mr. Ruffolo said to the publication.
“The key to competing with [ASCs] is to make it very efficient and convenient for a joint replacement surgery,” Mr. Ruffolo said. “They can go back and forth as if they were in an ambulatory surgery setting. That’s the key for ortho docs.”
COVID-19 was beneficial to the ASC industry as it accelerated procedure migration to ASC settings, which were largely isolated from COVID-19 cases. CMS, too, has seen the value of ASCs and continues to add more orthopedic procedures to the ASC payable list.
More articles on surgery centers:
10 recent ASC leadership moves
Virginia ASC takes infection prevention to new level — 3 insights
Surgery Partners goes all-in on cardiology — 5 quotes on its quarterly performance
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.