As the healthcare industry consolidates, some ASCs are opting to partner with health systems in their markets to access economies of scale.
Curt Collins, COO of Palmetto Surgery Center in Columbia, S.C., joined Becker's to discuss why his ASC partnered with a hospital.
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for length and clarity.
Question: Your ASC is a part of a group purchasing option through a partnership with Prisma Health. Do you think moves like these are necessary in an increasingly consolidating industry?
Curt Collins: I think so. And our spend at the surgery center is not insignificant; we actually help them as well to be able to negotiate, so it's kind of a win-win on both sides. Even though we're independent organizations, we are a part of a network alongside a bunch of physician practices. The network allows access to subspecialties that they don't necessarily have. They partner with some of the local physicians for tier one payments and that sort of thing from insurance companies.
It's a good collaborative network, but we still keep each other at an arm's distance kind of thing and remain independent. All of our physicians are of that same mindset that staying private is the way to go.