Becker's ASC Review

34 ORTHOPEDICS What it takes for ASCs to win over new spine surgeon investors By Carly Behm A s more spine procedures migrate to the outpa- tient setting, some spine surgeons will consider investing in ASCs. Although a daunting idea for surgeons, there are factors ASCs can focus on to draw the eyes of spine surgeons. "From a clinical standpoint, the center must be capable of handling spinal procedures in a safe and efficient manner," said Todd Lansford, MD, of Charleston-based South Caro- lina Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center. "If the center does not feel comfortable, or does not have the proper setup, then there is no use going forward. Many centers may be able to handle these cases, but have not done so yet. is requires significant patience and time, but can be a great opportunity to boost a center." ere are also advantages and disadvantages with ASCs that are established in spine surgery versus those still build- ing programs, Dr. Lansford said. "An ASC that is new to spine surgery can have a financial upside that may be higher," he said. "By bringing value to a center, you can take what could be lower share prices and have a greater return … A center that is already established with spine surgery will likely have a higher share price but will already be showing good returns. e contributions can still be felt, without the concern for feeling over- whelmed by being such a majority contributor." Usman Zahir, MD, of Dulles, Va.-based ScopeSpine-e Orthopedic Group, echoed that, saying surgeons should consider the costs and time that may come with investing in an ASC. "Established ASCs have costly share prices and oen few shares that are available, but they usually have a more predictable return than a pure start up," he said. "A startup ASC with low or nominal share prices may take years to be successful." He also said investors should pay attention to an ASC's partnerships. "Established ASCs that have many passive physicians are a red flag," he said "For startups, it is important to get a sense of what the true case volume is first, before committing. Many ASCs start with attractive pro forma statements, but if the surgeon partners are involved in too many ASCs, it might be best to move on." ASC investment is like any other business investment, Dr. Lansford said. "e risks come with a reward," he said. "e only impor- tant factor is that the patients are never at risk. erefore, clinical safety and appropriateness are the No. 1 priority." n The Joint Commission adds spine surgery certification program By Alan Condon Starting July 1, the Joint Commission will offer advanced certification for spine surgery. The certification program was created in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and will be avail- able to ASCs, hospitals and critical access hospitals that perform spine procedures, according to a May 4 news release from the commission. The Joint Commission certifies more than 100 spine organiza- tions through its disease-specific care certification program. The advanced certification for spine surgery will add a more in-depth assessment of spine surgery programs. The advanced certification program will include on-site ob- servations by Joint Commission reviewers and data collection for clinical performance measures. Data collection measures include surgical site infection rates, new neurological deficits, unplanned return visits to the operating room and preoperative and postoperative patient-reported outcomes. n Court issues injunction against Aegis Spine; finds company reverse engineered competitor's line of expandable cages By Alan Condon T he U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the mar- keting and sale of an Aegis Spine line of products. The injunction relates to Aegis Spine's AccelFix-XT line of expandable cages, which the court determined were reverse engineered from Life Spine's ProLift expandable cage. As Life Spine's distributor, Aegis Spine used its access to ProLift to "discover the underlying specifications of the ProLift and then shared that information with surgeon consultants [and its parent company L&K Biomed] to reverse engineer the ProLift," accord- ing to the court. The court said Life Spine is likely to succeed at trial proving several of its claims, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets. "We appreciate the court's thorough analysis of the issues and we are gratified that the court's order protects the years of hard work spent developing our ProLift series of products," Michael Butler, CEO of Life Spine, said in an April 6 news release. n

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