Becker's Spine Review

40 ASC Amazon vs. Walmart in healthcare: Who's winning and what it means for ASCs By Laura Dyrda W almart and Amazon see big opportunities in virtual health and clinics. Both made big announcements in early May, turning up the heat in their competition. Amazon's healthcare arm, Amazon Care, ex- panded from providing virtual and on-site care to employees in Washington to offer- ing services for self-insured employers. e company landed its first client, a fitness com- pany acquired by Pelaton, May 5. It hopes to have contracts in all 50 states this summer, according to an Insider report. Walmart Health, which has an established network of health clinics and $4 telehealth visits for employees, purchased the telehealth company MeMD May 6. e company said it aims to open 15 more health centers this year and have 4,000 clinics by 2029. Walmart has the advantage for health cen- ters, with convenient store locations in communities across the U.S., while Amazon is ahead in digital health and virtual care development. Amazon also has a more so- phisticated strategy to bring care to patients, whether through its pharmacy line or as part of its Prime service. Arielle Trzcinski, principal analyst at Forrest- er, told Insider, "e healthcare market is fi- nally shiing to become more consumer-cen- tric. ese retail giants have both hit on the need to bring care to the consumer and are capitalizing on the seismic shi we see hap- pening across the healthcare industry." ASC owners and operators also see consum- erism as a force driving competition, and many are changing their strategy. "ere are more creative technologies being developed that will be appealing to the sav- vy healthcare consumers who want to have their healthcare information available to them at their fingertips," said Becky Ziegler- Otis, administrator of Ambulatory Surgical Center of Stevens Point (Wis.). She thinks price transparency technolo- gies; patient engagement tools such as no- tifications, education and reminders; and health-tracking tools such as smart watches, will help coordinate care and improve the patient experience. "Keeping abreast of these technology trends is important in looking for opportunities to lever- age them in the ASC environment," she said. As patients take on higher deductibles and become savvier about choosing a more per- sonalized experience, ASCs can benefit as a low-cost boutique care provider. "For the longest time, we have been discuss- ing the ability of consumers to drive case migration through choice of the outpatient setting over the hospital due to the cost fac- tor," said Andrew Lovewell, administrator of e Surgical Center at Columbia (Mo.) Or- thopaedic Group. "I foresee that increasing. With that increase and the adoption of more high-deductible health plans, and the onus being put on the consumer to drive their own healthcare vehicle, that means there are going to be some breakout benefactors of this. ASCs could be one." n Harnessing hospital partnerships: 2 ASCs that grew during the pandemic By Patsy Newitt W hen hospitals shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, some ASCs saw caseloads increase when surgeries were unable to be performed in hospital settings. Here are two ASCs that grew during the pandemic through partnerships with hospitals: 1. Raleigh (N.C.) Orthopaedic Raleigh Orthopedic, a privately owned, midsize physician group with two ASCs, saw an increase of its total joint vol- ume by 40 percent in 2020. "We're doing about 170 cases a week throughout the sur- gery center. During COVID-19, we were pushing about 200 a week," CEO Brian Bizub said. "We've kind of nor- malized a little bit, but that continues to grow." Mr. Bizub said aligning with primary care and hospitals helped harness the growth. "We're lucky enough that we have about 58 percent of the market share in Wake County," he said. "We've aligned our- selves with UNC Rex Hospital and UNC for the ambulatory service or surgery center service line. That's been extremely helpful and has allowed us into some of their networks. 2. 90210 Surgery Medical Center Beverly Hills, Calif.-based 90210 Surgery Medical Center also saw substantial growth in 2020. The center is an affiliate of nonprofit hospital Cedars-Si- nai in Los Angeles, which was helpful in increasing case- load during the pandemic, administrator Benita Tapia told Becker's ASC Review. When the hospital had a surgery backlog from pandem- ic delays, the center opened its operating rooms to sur- geons whose patients had medically necessary surgeries. Some surgeons have continued performing surgeries at the center even as backlog has abated. "We're busier than we've ever been," said Andy Ball, the cen- ter's chief executive. "We can accommodate these surgeons, so they could have access to operating room times, and they realized they don't need to go back to the hospital." n

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