As a low-cost site of service, ASCs could benefit as value-based care's influence in healthcare heightens.
Leslie Jebson, regional administrator at Prisma Health in Greenville, S.C., joined Becker's to discuss how value-based care will affect the ASC industry.
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for clarity and brevity.
Question: How will value-based care affect the ASC industry in the next five years?
Leslie Jebson: I think it has the potential of enhancing the visibility and value proposition that ASCs bring, which includes cost, minimally invasive procedures and quicker recovery. I think as healthcare systems move towards becoming healthcare health management companies, ASCs will be a cornerstone because again they will offer linear expertise in cardiology, gastroenterology, ENT and orthopedics. They will be facilities that have a narrow scope of services they offer thus high repeatability, lower variation and higher quality.
It's like this: You have a mechanic and you go to that mechanic because all he does is Volkswagens, right? This will be the case with the ASCs in the overall care mode. They will have high review ability and low variation.
Q: Have ASCs already been affected by value-based care?
LJ: We remain on the front end of it, and so as the payers and employers continue to push for pricing transparency and quality and the services that they're paying for, the value-based movement will only continue to grow. As such, I think ASCs are well positioned, narrowly focused ASCs particularly … to serve as a cornerstone in the value- based movement.