At one time it might have been surprising to find out that an Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) functioned without an in-house Sterile Processing Department (SPD). Today, it's common to see centers survive and even thrive without them.
ASCs have leveraged superior infection control as a competitive advantage over hospitals for years. Now, outsourcing the SPD is a new opportunity to take that advantage a step further.
The pandemic has “supercharged" patient demand for a safe and controlled surgical environment, making an outsourced off-site SPD an ideal response. But even in cases where outsourced processes are handled on-site, the focused expertise and specialized skill of the SPD provider can benefit a total joint program. This competitive advantage can additionally be leveraged at the marketing level to attract new patients as your program sets more aggressive volume goals.
For more supply chain insights, visit about Cardinal Health’s ASC services page here.