Becker's ASC Review

40 Executive Briefing quality of life for the physicians who have been managing the center," said Mr. Goodwin. "Most recently, we had some hesitancy from physicians regarding the savings on medical supplies and implants that can be delivered through an affiliation with Surgery Partners. Due to the size and scale of our company, we have been able to deliver on this." Surgeons can leave the business management to their partners and focus on their true calling: treating patients. 2. Supply chain. During the pandemic, there was a shortage of PPE and other supplies in high demand to keep healthcare providers functioning. Surgery Partners was able to work with partners to secure necessary PPE and products for their centers instead of leaving facilities to fend for themselves. "Surgery Partners uses its size to negotiate competitive prices for many different categories of products and services," said Rick Salzer, senior vice president of procurement and supply chain at Surgery Partners. "From joint implants to neuromodulation to everyday products, Surgery Partners is a significant buyer, in the tens of millions of dollars per category, and uses that clout to help our facilities keep their per procedure costs down. We've also worked really hard during the pandemic to make sure we had enough of the right PPE for all facilities to keep operating safely." Because the company has scale and a commitment to patient and staff safety, the Surgery Partners team was able to stockpile and deliver items to facilities quickly so they had the masks, gowns and gloves necessary to perform surgery. "We learned that buying items collectively, and being able to meet giant order quantities, then sharing them amongst all our facilities, was sometimes the only way that our individual facilities could get PPE," said Mr. Salzer. "It was really gratifying to see our facilities sharing PPE so that no one had to cancel cases." 3. Clinical benefits. ASCs need the right equipment, implants and clinical expertise to bring in higher acuity cases on a regular basis. Mr. Goodwin said changes in the cost structure for robotic surgery make the technology available to outpatient surgery centers for orthopedic and spine cases. Coupled with the 21 procedures CMS proposed adding to the ASC payable list next year, Mr. Goodwin expects to see continued migration of higher acuity cases out of the hospital. "We expect to see an increased demand for the shift in services to the ASC with some level of this activity never returning to an inpatient facility," he said. "The hospital price transparency requirement, effective January 1, 2021, will create additional growth in procedures performed in an ASC as the consumer becomes more aware of the financial benefit of having the procedure performed in a lower cost ASC setting." Ann Shimek, senior vice president and chief clinical officer of Surgery Partners, said the company is unique because its highest priority is to partner with physicians and work with them to offer high quality care. "Delivering excellent quality care in a safe, efficient and exceptional service to our patients and physicians is our focus every day," she said. "Surgery Partners offers clinical oversight and guidance to ensure excellence in all sites of service." Foundation of success for the future There is still significant uncertainty about how healthcare will evolve over the next decade. The pandemic will continue to shape care delivery in the near term with the potential to further disrupt ASC operations. But ASCs are flexible and with the right partnerships they can thrive through this time. Mr. Goodwin said the smartest ASCs are communicating the safety of the outpatient surgery environment because they do not treat COVID-19 patients and developing a bigger digital presence to engage patients. Those centers are also working with payers to lower the cost of care by moving additional patient services from the inpatient environment to the ASC. "As we closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect to see continued growth in the volume and types of procedures that can be performed in an ASC," said Mr. Goodwin. "We also expect significant growth in the number of ASCs that are affiliated with Surgery Partners due to the overall operating environment and continued focus on acquisition and de novo projects by our development team." n Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, Surgery Partners is a leading healthcare services company with a differentiated outpatient delivery model focused on providing high quality, cost effective surgical solutions in support of both patients and physicians. Founded in 2004, Surgery Partners is one of the largest and fastest growing surgical services businesses in the country, with more than 180 locations in 30 states, including ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, multispecialty physician practices and urgent care facilities.

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