Oklahoma City-based Surgery Center of Oklahoma is partnering with health maintenance organization GlobalHealth, according to NewsOK.
Here are five things to know:
1. As per the agreement, the surgery center will offer their services and all-inclusive pricing to GlobalHealth's members. The ASC offers a host of services including foot and ankle, general surgery, neurosurgery, otorhinolaryngology, anesthesiology, gynecology/obstetrics, urology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and reconstructive plastics.
2. G. Keith Smith, MD, the ASC's co-founder, referred to the partnership as a "win-win" for both Surgery Center of Oklahoma and GlobalHealth, saying their values "align so well." Surgery Center of Oklahoma has a price transparency strategy in place in which the ASC has prices listed on its website for more than 200 procedures and also gives patients informing regarding its infection rates.
3. The ASC believes package pricing allows patients to know upfront how much a service will cost them. The pricing includes surgeon, anesthesiologist and facility fees.
4. Surgery Center of Oklahoma can offer these prices as it is 100 percent physician-owned and managed. Nearly 40 surgeons and anesthesiologists own and operate the 32,535-square-foot ASC.
5. GlobalHealth's statewide network includes nearly 5,600 providers. The HMO represents 44,000-plus lives in 77 Oklahoma counties.