Becker's Spine Review

30 OUTPATIENT SURGERY Jury awards $1.6M to Iowa surgery center in anti- competition case By Eric Oliver P ierce Street Same Day Surgery was awarded $1.6 million in damages aer a jury ruled that its CEO con- spired with a competing physician group to develop a new surgery center, the Sioux City Journal reports. What you should know: 1. e case began in 2017, when five physi- cians affiliated with Pierce Street and Tri- State Specialists began developing the $32 million Riverview Surgical Center in South Sioux City, Iowa. Pierce Street sued the physicians and Tri-State, alleging breach of contract and violation of non-compete clauses. As a result of their in- volvement in Riverside, Pierce Street revoked the ownership stakes of five physicians. 2. e physicians, former Pierce Street CEO Lee Hilka, and Tri-State sued back, claiming that Pierce Street had wrongfully terminated the physicians and interfered with the devel- opment of Riverside. 3. e jury found both parties at fault, saying Mr. Hilka conspired with Tri-State to inter- fere with Pierce Street's physician contracts. Two physicians were found to have violated the non-compete clauses in their contracts. e jury found Pierce Street at fault for breaching operating agreements with five physicians when it terminated the physicians' membership interests. 4. Pierce Street received $1.6 million in dam- ages to be paid, in varying amounts, by Mr. Hilka, Tri-State, Adam Smith, MD, and Wil- liam Samuelson, MD. 5. Pierce Street will pay $231,808 to the physi- cians whose membership interests were termi- nated. ey will split it in varying amounts. n These specialties are still great for ASCs By Rachel Popa T here are a number of specialties ASC leaders are optimistic about moving forward, according to panelists who attended the Becker's ASC 26th Annual Meeting in Chicago. The panelists included: Gregory P. DeConciliis, PA-C, administrator of Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites; Rebecca Bruce, director of the UPMC Leader Surgery Center in York, Pa.; Robert Thornberry, MD, of the Tallahassee (Fla.) Orthopedic Clinic; and Stephen Blake, JD, CEO of Central Park ENT & Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas. Three insights: 1. Orthopedics. Many ASCs are pursuing total joint programs and are finding adding the procedures to be a good investment, especially when partnering with private insurers. 2. Spine. Spine procedures are high-reimbursing cas- es, with one panelist saying that one of his spine sur- geons could generate $100,000 using one operating room. 3. Ear, nose and throat. ENT procedures are high volume, and have a lower cost and minimal supplies. Community exposure also makes ENT lucrative, as families bring their children to the center. n Hospitals favoring physicians as ASC partners: 4 survey details By Rachel Popa J oint ventures with physicians are hospitals' preferred meth- od for opening ASCs, according to a survey from outpa- tient healthcare group Avanza Healthcare Strategies. Avanza developed the survey with HealthLeaders Media, poll- ing 119 senior executives. Four things to know: 1. Forty-one percent of respondents said they own or are af- filiated with a freestanding ASC, with three-quarters of those partnerships being joint ventures with physicians. 2. Three out of four respondents said they plan to increase their ASC investments, and 30 percent said they'll expand ASC investments when the chance arises as a means to re- duce costs and increase physician relationships. 3. Fewer hospitals and health systems are partnering with third-party investors to own and operate ASCs, with equi- ty-based partnerships dropping 9 percent in 2019. 4. Contracts with third-party management companies are down 21 percent this year. "The cost-benefit of outside management and the develop- ment of in-house expertise may explain why hospitals and health systems are turning away from equity-based partner- ships and long-term contracts with third-party management companies. Both are signs of a maturing marketplace," said Avanza President and CEO Joan Dentler. n

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