From procedure migration to increased demand, here are the ASC and outpatient trends named by three ASC leaders when asked by Becker's about what's exciting them in the industry.
Editor's note: These responses were edited lightly for clarity and length.
Question: What ASC or outpatient trends are you most excited about?
April Aud, BSN, RN. Administrator of Black River Ambulatory Surgery Center (Poplar Bluff, Mo.): What I am most excited about would be all of the new procedures that are allowed to be performed in the ASC. It is no secret that ASCs are beneficial to patients and the communities they serve. Obviously, there will always be a need for inpatient surgery, but why not focus on opening up some of the inpatient operating room space by sending those cases that can be done in the ASC to the ASC? Typically, there is a much lower cost to the patient, faster turnaround time and often better outcomes.
Matt Kraemer. Administrator of Northern Arizona Healthcare in Flagstaff: I am very excited for additional procedures to be removed from the CMS inpatient prospective payment system, leading to the expansion of services we can offer our community in an ambulatory setting. Partnering with our product vendors and third-party payers to create case and outcome-specific contract carve-outs allows us to provide services that may otherwise be directed to the hospital setting.
Jerry Tillinger. CEO of U.S. Digestive Health: At US Digestive Health, we are most excited about the continued inflow of 45- to 49-year-old patients for screening colonoscopies and the continued value we are receiving from GI Genius AI-assisted colonoscopy. Decreasing colorectal cancer cases in our communities is one of our most important missions. We are screening more and more of these younger patients and achieving phenomenal adenoma detection rate improvement, all great trends for our patients.