The Current State of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Future Trends

Surgical volumes continue to shift from inpatient and hospital outpatient departments to independent and co-owned Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). Consumer preferences, payer pressure, lower cost, possibility of site-neutral payments, equivalent safety, and clinical innovation have caused this outmigration. Physicians have embraced the shift due to dissatisfaction with current employment models, more professional autonomy, a sense of purpose, the ability to drive efficiency and quality of care, and the option to invest and benefit financially. Vascular surgeons can utilize their existing experience delivering outpatient care to grow their practices. The unique challenges and business structure of this care model, regulatory roadblocks, arbitrary reimbursement adjustments, and new corporate entrants to ASCs need to be understood. New models of outpatient care will likely include shifting higher-acuity procedures to ASCs. The care will be delivered by independent vascular surgeons or through alignment between physicians and hospital systems to provide optimal care to patients in convenient, secure, and cost-effective settings.