The COVID-19 pandemic, infection levels and the increase in CMS outpatient procedure approval has left the ASC industry prime for growth.
Gabriel Figueroa, CASC, is the administrator of Manhattan Reproductive Surgery Center in New York City. He spoke with Becker's ASC Review on why the ASC industry is ripe for growth.
Question: What are your bold predictions for the ASC industry in the next five years?
Gabriel Figueroa: The next five years will see aggressive growth and expansion in the ASC space throughout the country. I have believed this for years, and current circumstances validate this projection. Some of the obvious contributing factors include migration of approved procedures to the ASC from the hospital outpatient department, quality of care, infection rates, lower cost to the healthcare system overall, physician and patient satisfaction, advances in equipment and technology and the creation of value-based payment methodologies, just to name a few.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic, I believe, also gives us an indication of where the ASC platform fits within the overall delivery of care in this country. All of our patients were extremely grateful and appreciative that we were allowed and able to continue to provide care throughout the pandemic. The ASC can offer continued access to care through times like these, with reduced risk of infection, for a tremendous range of conditions that are essential to the quality of life for the patients we serve.
I believe the hospital systems, insurance companies, private-equity-type investors, physicians and patients all realize that we can work together to continue to create a synergistic relationship that maintains the highest level of patient care while delivering efficient and cost-effective care.