Several hospitals are off to a rough financial start in 2023, which has forced some to permanently close their doors.
Becker's has reported on five hospitals that closed or announced plans to close in the last two months. The reasons for these closures include declining revenue and reimbursement challenges.
On one hand, these closures could increase case volume at ASCs and bring in opportunity.
"As hospitals evaluate and close or ramp down in specific service lines, it can be a real opportunity for ASCs to capture new volume in a variety of specialties," Jennifer Misajet, RN, a former hospital leader told Beckers. "While service expansion may require ASCs to purchase specialty equipment and train staff, selectively focusing on growing volumes in specialties moving out of acute care can make sense for the revenue, productivity and utilization of the ASC."
However, if that increase in caseload is unmanageable, it can put a strain on ASC operations.
"We are finding that our local ASCs are being flooded with cases that were previously being done in hospitals," Jitander Dudee, MD, owner of Medical Vision Institute in Lexington, Ky., told Becker's. "Combined with the backlog of deferred cases from the pandemic, this is making it difficult to schedule cases like cataract surgery, which were previously staples for ASCs. So there seems to be an undersupply of facilities for elective cases and difficulties in scheduling emergencies."