A Look Into the Webinar: Excelling in Today's Dynamic ASC Landscape

Q&A from the recent panel discussion on "Excelling in Today's Dynamic ASC Landscape," moderated by SIS Vice President of ASC Solutions Daren Smith, RN, BSN.

As part of its celebration of National ASC Month, SIS hosted a special panel discussion about what must ASCs do to achieve success today and set themselves up for a bright future. The ASC industry leaders who participated in the conversation discussed the current surgery center landscape and how ASCs are thriving in it, top challenges centers are facing, and what is required for long-term sustainability. The panelists also provided guidance and strategies to help attendees and their ASCs capitalize on emerging opportunities and navigate obstacles.

The panelists were Jeffrey Flynn, CASC, administrator and chief operations officer for Gramercy Surgery Center; Colleen Ramirez, RN, CASC, chief administration officer for Bone & Joint Surgery Center of Novi; and Shellie Rivera, RN, administrator for St. Mark's Surgical Center.

Below are the panelists' responses to the first and last question of the discussion, edited for readability. You can watch the entire webinar here.

Q: How would you describe the current state of the ASC industry?

Jeffrey Flynn (JF): I think it's a very exciting time for the ASC industry because it really is our time. Healthcare costs are unsustainable, and we are the alternative that insurance companies are now recognizing. Hospitals are working with us, recognizing that we can provide access to care in different areas so much more efficiently, which leaves the hospitals open for the more emergent and high-level services that need to be provided there.

I think in the next several years, you're going to see a transformation of many more surgery centers and see ASCs as the vehicle for the transition of the whole healthcare industry to become much more efficient and able to give greater access to care, largely regardless of the circumstance of different patients.

Shellie Rivera (SR): As surgery centers evolve with improved technology and expanded procedures, they offer patients a high-quality, lower-cost alternative to the hospitals. Like Jeff said, hospitals are higher cost, and ASCs are a great and safe alternative. ASCs are definitely growing in popularity.

Colleen Ramirez (CR): We focus so much on patients, and we do have such a higher patient satisfaction for both care and service in the ASC, hands down. But I also think that a huge piece of what makes ASCs great and how the industry has changed is evident by watching the transformation from staff who worked in hospitals and have come and worked at ASCs kind of through COVID and seeing their reaction. I love the fact that we can not only provide such great service for the patients, but we also have a great employment option for our healthcare providers.

Q: What is your outlook for your center, and what is your outlook for the coming years with the ASC industry?

SR: The ASC industry is evolving rapidly, becoming more and more competitive through specialized surgery centers. This attracts patients due to the highly skilled staff and improved technology to perform the surgeries. For example, our center has laser-assisted cataract surgery and the Light Adjustable Lens, which is the new craze. We operate in Southwest Florida, an area where there are a lot of elderly patients who require cataract procedures, making this a super competitive market. Over the next several years, we can expect ASCs to continue to grow in popularity due to all these advances in technology and skill.

CR: Overall, my outlook is that I'm super excited. I will always say that, hands down, ASCs are where you need to have surgery. It's a great place for our healthcare providers to work. It's an incredible place to have physicians to come in and experience an efficient environment.

I'm excited for technology advances, but I do think you have to always look at return on investment with anything new you're considering bringing in. Just because it's shiny and new doesn't mean it's necessarily right for your center. Make sure that you're continually looking at cost per case and renegotiating contracts. In order to be successful, it is important as the administrator or clinical operator to ensure you're looking at your key areas of operation on a recurring basis.

JF: At the root of it, we're all individually small business people. I think we understand that we have to stay relevant, we have to reinvent ourselves, we have to keep looking at what's out there, and we have to keep working to move forward to remain successful. In the ASC industry, we're set up well to do all of these already.

I'm very positive about the outlook of the ASC industry. I drink the ASC "Kool-Aid" in the sense that I really think we're on the edge of transforming healthcare through technology and bringing in more effective ways to deliver care.

There's an exciting initiative here in New York that we're trying to work on, which is to get the approved CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) cardiac procedures into our surgery centers. Working with the state government on that alone, we could save the state Medicaid system in New York over a billion dollars a year if those lower procedures were able to be done our sites. At the same time, there would be access for patients to get their more serious care in the hospital in a more efficient and faster way. This is an area where we really can save lives as we move forward, and it's very exciting to be part of that for the future.

Check out the full discussion here.