ASC Growth & Evolution in the New Healthcare Environment

Healthcare has been in flux over the past five years, creating new opportunities for ambulatory surgery center owners and operators focused on providing high quality, low cost care. Navigating this terrain requires a keen eye on the healthcare landscape and focusing on the operational efficiency essentials. Click to continue »

Health Insurance Exchanges Gaining Steam: Great or Terrible for ASCs?

Health insurance exchanges are up and running and the individual mandate requires insurance coverage. Click to continue »

8 Key Thoughts for ASCs on Out-of-Network Services

Being able to accept out-of-network patients is an issue ambulatory surgery centers can not ignore. Click to continue »

Publisher’s Letter

6 Recent ASC Management & Development Key Notes – AmSurg, ASCOA, USPI & More

Here are six recent news updates on ambulatory surgery center management and development companies. Click to continue » 

HCA, SCA, AmSurg, USPI & Symbion: 5 Key Facts About 5 of the Largest ASC Companies

Here is information on five of the largest ambulatory surgery center management and development companies including leadership, recent financial results and market activity. Click to continue »

Eliminate Staffing Overlaps: 7 Strategies to Run a Lean ASC

Surgical Management Professionals Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations Mary Sturm discusses seven tactics to eliminate staffing issues for more efficient and cost-effective ASC staffing. Click to continue » 

Avoid Dire Hires: ASC Administrators Reveal Innovative Hiring Strategies

Hiring the right staff members is essential for an ambulatory surgery center to remain efficient and profitable. Click to continue »

Gastroenterology Practices & Endoscopy Centers: Best Opportunities for Expansion

Five gastroenterologists discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities in GI field expansion. Click to continue »

ASC Financial Dashboard for Physician Owners

Ambulatory surgery center physician owners balance their private practice with ASC ownership, hospital cases and other professional and personal responsibilities. Click to continue »

21st Annual Ambulatory Surgery Centers Conference brochure

How Does Physician Ownership Impact ASC Valuation? Q&A With VMG's Aaron Murski

Physician ownership can have a significant effect on valuation, but where does it affect valuation most? Click to continue »

ASC Ownership Division: Structuring a 3-Way Joint Venture That Works

Three-way joint ventures are becoming a popular strategy in the ASC industry, but for a market that has been primarily physician-driven the ownership division can be a difficult process. Click to continue » 

Hospital Joint Ventures: The New ASC Physician Succession Plan?

Ambulatory surgery center physician-owners have many reasons to consider entering a hospital joint venture: a calculated defensive strategy to weather the changes in healthcare or an offensive play to outstrip competing ASCs among the most common. Click to continue »

CMS Reporting: How Has it Changed Quality Data Collection?

In 2014, all ASCs with Medicare certification have new quality reporting requirements with which to comply. Click to continue »

ASC M&A Activity: 4 Big Trends for 2014 From HealthCare Appraisers

The ambulatory surgery center industry was active in 2013, according to the HealthCare Appraisers "2014 ASC Valuation Survey." Click to continue » 

Potential Impact of MedPAC's Recommendation on ASC/HOPD Payments for Eye & Pain Procedures

The 2013 MedPAC report examined services meeting its principles to align payment rates across ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient departments, excluding services typically provided with an emergency department visit or sicker patients who aren't good candidates for the ASC setting. Click to continue » 

The Expansion of Anesthesiology Leadership in ASCs: 4 Key Areas

With the rise of regulatory burdens and the fall in reimbursements, ambulatory surgery centers face a challenging landscape. Click to continue »

Anesthesiologist Compensation: 5 Points

Here are five things to know about anesthesiologist compensation in 2013 based on the Medscape Anesthesiologist Compensation Report 2014. Click to continue »

How to Structure Sound Shared Savings Programs: Get Physicians Involved

Hospitals and health systems around the country are examining shared savings programs and implementing strategies to cut costs where possible while maintaining high quality care. Click to continue »

ASC Case Scheduling: Best Ideas for Biggest Efficiencies

Scheduling challenges are common for ambulatory surgery centers, whether it's making physicians happy with block times, maximizing OR use with compact scheduling or making sure the patient is ready for their case to start on time. Click to continue » 

5 Key ASC Revenue Cycle Management Performance Indicators

Ambulatory surgery center revenue cycle managers can benchmark key performance indicators to find strengths and weaknesses in the center's process, and then make improvements. Click to continue » 

2014 CPT Code & Medicare List Updates: What Do ASC Leaders Need to Know?

The American Medical Association released its 2014 Current Procedural Terminology code set in fall 2013. Click to continue » 

A Closer Look at the Cost of Accounts Receivable

In today's economic environment patients appreciate and have even come to expect some level of assistance from healthcare providers when it comes to managing the cost of care. Click to continue »

What Will it Take For Total Joints to Succeed at ASCs?

Four surgeons speak about trends in total joint replacement in the ASC setting. Click to continue »

Medicare-Certified ASCs Grow 12% From 2007 to 2012

There were 5,357 Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers in the United States in 2012, according to the 2014 MedPAC issues report to Congress. Click to continue »

Reducing the Risk: Endoscope Reprocessing in Ambulatory Surgery Centers

More than 20 million gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures are performed each year in the United States. Click to continue » 

Colonoscopies in Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Saving Lives Through Increased Screening and Advances in Technology

The latest data from the American Cancer Society released in March 2014 shows colon cancer incidence rates have dropped 30 percent in the United States in the last 10 years among adults 50 and older "due to the widespread uptake of colonoscopy." Click to continue »

Horizon BlueCross BlueShield of New Jersey Launches Program to Improve Colonoscopy

Horizon BlueCross BlueShield of New Jersey has launched a new program designed to improve colonoscopy patient outcomes, patient experience and lower costs through coordination of care, according to an NJBIZ report. Click to continue » 

Hospital Employment to Private Practice: 70% of Physicians Happier After the Switch

A new report from Medscape shows 70 percent of physicians who went from employed to self-employed situations were happier after the switch. Click to continue » 

Eliminate the Weak Links in Supply Chain: 4 Core Points

Supply chain management plays a vital role in ambulatory surgery center success. Click to continue »