Physician office space in an ambulatory surgical center

Medicare requires that ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) be operated exclusively for the purpose of providing surgical services to patients who do not require hospitalization. As a result, ASCs have been reluctant to establish physician office space within their facilities for non-surgical procedures due to fear of losing their Medicare certification for failure to satisfy the exclusivity requirement. Recently, however, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified its position on the exclusivity issue, stating that if an ASC follows certain criteria, it can establish physician office space within its facility without violating the exclusivity requirement or jeopardizing its Medicare certification.