David Hohl, chief administrative officer of Hibbing, Minn.-based Fairview Range and CEO of Virginia, Minn.-based Northwoods Surgery Center, spoke with Becker's ASC Review about the changing climate between ASCs and hospitals and why partnerships are gaining traction in the industry.
Note: These responses were edited slightly for style and clarity.
Question: How is the relationship between ASCs and hospitals changing and what healthcare trends are making way for possible ASC-hospital partnerships?
David Hohl: ASCs were once only looked at as a threat and as competition to hospitals. Now, hospitals are seeing the value of being able to offer a low-cost surgical service; thus [hospitals] are either looking at opening their own ASC or looking to acquire or partner. Hospitals can never achieve the lower cost per case that ASCs can, and with the fact that many expect in the future hospitals will be paid only what a procedure would get reimbursed at an ASC, the drive to develop or affiliate with an ASC is growing.
Q: What differentiates a successful ASC-hospital partnership from an unsuccessful one? What advice would you give both parties when contemplating a partnership?
DH: The first would be based on if there is enough case volume to feed both the hospital ORs and the ASC, if not one is viewed as competition to the other. It is imperative that it is defined in advance what the hospital will provide to the ASC and what the cost will be. The hospital needs to identify and develop the methods or processes in which it will embrace and support the ASC; without that, it is easy for the ASC to become a low priority.
Learn more from Mr. Hohl at the 24th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs in October 2017. Click here for more information.