Cardiology has been a specialty of interest for several ASC leaders in 2024.
Here are three updates on outpatient cardiology that indicate growth for the specialty at ASCs:
• Cardiology opportunities for ASCs are growing. A growing number of cardiology procedures are scoring approval from CMS for use at ASCs. For instance, the CardioMEMS HF System, a minimally invasive procedure that provides real-time monitoring of pulmonary artery pressure, was approved for ASC use by CMS in April.
• Private equity interest in cardiology is on the rise. Despite private equity transactions in healthcare declining overall in 2023, three industry specialties saw an uptick in activity, including cardiology. Deals in the cardiovascular sector were the second most active sector that year, according to PitchBook's 2023 "Healthcare Services Report."
• Nearly half of all counties in the U.S. lack a practicing cardiologist. The fact that about 22 million Americans need to travel almost 90 miles round trip to seek specialty cardiology care shows there is need, demand and opportunity for growth of the service area nationwide.
"We believe that cardiology represents the single largest driver of new cases and new revenues on the horizon — nothing else comes close to being able to move the needle as quickly as cardiovascular," Alfonso del Granado, administrator and CEO of Covenant High Plains Surgery Center in Lubbock, Texas, told Becker's.