Profitability, consumer trends and physician relationships are some of the top reasons hospitals own ASCs, according to a 2019 survey from outpatient healthcare group Avanza Healthcare Strategies.
Avanza developed the survey with HealthLeaders Media, polling 119 senior executives.
Seven things to know:
1. Two major reasons hospitals own ASCs is to increase profit margins and respond to consumer trends.
2. Respondents said enhancing physician relationships and keeping physicians' cases within the hospital system were big reasons to pursue a joint venture.
3. Reducing costs also factored into pursuing ASC joint ventures, as well as increasing the capacity for outpatient surgical procedures.
4. Entering new markets is another reason hospitals seek ASC joint ventures.
5. Twenty-three percent of respondents said their organizations own five to seven ASCs, up 7 percent from last year's survey. Twenty-five percent of respondents said their organizations own two to four ASCs, and 52 percent said their organizations had just one ASC.
6. Forty-one percent of respondents said they have an affiliation or ownership interest in one ASC, while 52 percent did not.
7. Among the 41 percent of health systems that have a financial interest in an ASC, respondents said joint ventures increased from 67 percent to 73 percent year over year.