The instability of the healthcare market and with challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have required ASCs to adapt to ensure success.
Here are three ASCs that are challenging traditional models of ASC structure:
1. The Surgery Center of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City is a pioneer in price transparency with an all-cash model. The center doesn't take private or public insurance nor does it negotiate prices, but its prices are still often lower than what patients can get through insurance.
The ASC's owner, anesthesiologist Keith Smith, MD, told D Magazine he began posting prices online in 2009, and the all-inclusive nature of the payment model has since attracted people from all over the country.
2. The ASCs at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins have the benefits of both health system and academic backing, giving them access to research, education and resources. The ASC organization, dubbed the Johns Hopkins Surgery Center Series, serves patients at seven locations and is a joint venture between Johns Hopkins Health System and its school of medicine.
Unlike freestanding ASCs, Johns Hopkins structure and mission give the ASCs the opportunity to cater to community needs rather than business needs. The organization can use its ties to Johns Hopkins to build, for example, an ASC in an underserved community, and the academic backing also allows the health system to be an innovator in ambulatory research and education
3. Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, an independent, 42-physician group with locations in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, began affiliating with Cincinnati-based TriHealth in September to expand orthopedic care access and services in the tri-state area.
The innovative agreement creates a network of co-managed orthopedic ASCs. Beacon runs the day-to-day operations of the ASCs, and TriHealth orthopedic physicians have the option to join Beacon.