At the Becker's ASC 21st Annual Meeting — The Business and Operations of ASCs, Oct. 23 to 25, in Chicago, Michael J. Patterson, FACHE, president and CEO of Davenport, Iowa-based Mississippi Valley Health; Michael Pankey, RN, MBA, administrator of ASC of Spartenburg (S.C.); and Joseph G. Ollayos, CASC, administrator, Tri-Cities Surgery Center in Geneva, Ill.; discussed issues and challenges that ambulatory surgery centers are facing in the current healthcare environment.
According to Mr. Patterson, narrow networks and higher levels of physician employment by hospitals are among the biggest challenges facing his facilities today. "Narrow networks and health system control of those networks have caused us to move to higher acuity cases," he said. "Also, hospital employment is appears to attract physicians since it means that they won't have to buy-in or deal with managing a facility. So for ASCs that don't have a hospital partner, this will be a big issue."
However, it is possible for ASCs to stay independent in the long-term if they have an engaged group of physicians, noted Mr. Patterson. But once the current set of physicians grows older and moves on, there is a great deal of uncertainty. "There may be younger physicians who have step up, but they are also wrapped up with having kids and their families. They see older physicians who do not have much of a connection with their kids and they don't want to make the same mistakes. But physician leadership is very important for the future of independent ASCs."
Changes in hospital C-suites can also lead to upheavals for independent ASCs. Mr. Pankey said that his facility is facing competition from a major hospital in their area, which wasn't the case earlier. "There was a full turnover in the hospital C-suite, and now the new administration has labeled us the competitor," he said. "The previous management was forward-looking, and so we were fortunate not to be in competition with the hospital. But now, we are in competition. With diminishing numbers of physician to recruit, this is proving to be a challenge."
On the other hand, Tri-Cities Surgery Center, which is a hospital joint venture, has found a way to remain successful without stepping on their hospital partner's toes. "We have established ourselves as a site of service for very specific specialties," said Mr. Ollayos. "We decided we would stay in our niche instead of trying to compete with the hospital. Currently, continuing with this strategy is our plan as it is a cooperative relationship."