Becker's ASC Review

40 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP • Physician owners: We are a physician-owned ASC, and our 12 physician owners are not only great physicians but even better people. ey truly care about all of their patients and care about our staff and their well-being. • I love being part of a team that isn't afraid to work hard but have fun while doing it. Mark Spina. Administrator of North Queens Surgical Center (New York City): I love the ability to work with clinical staff that care deeply about providing quality patient care for all patients. Every day is a new adventure in running an ASC. Keeping the center on the right path from a clinical, work environment and financial perspective is always a matter of juggling a number of balls in the air at the same time. Brenda Carter. Administrator of Wilmington (N.C.) Surgcare: For me, I find the most fun in my role in the connections with physicians, staff, vendors and patients. Managing the efficiency and success in our ASC means that we are doing the right things to ensure that we are here to take care of future patients. at is a huge pride point for me. It is a joy in the stewardship for the care of my community. Andres Duran. Healthcare Consultant (Texas): Taking care of patients and providing them with the best care possible. Crystal Aigner, BSN, RN. Administrator of Surgical Suites of Coastal Virginia (Williamsburg, Va.): My two favorite things about being a facility administrator are staff and patient-related. I enjoy being able to support and encourage our team. I am also grateful to be able to provide an environment where our team can take care of patients proudly, as we would our own families. n ASCs are changing how hospitals are used, surgeon says By Patsy Newitt As procedures increasingly move to ASCs, the way hospitals are used is shifting, according to Brian Bacot, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Comprehensive Orthopaedic Global in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Dr. Bacot joined Becker's to discuss how competition in the ASC market has shifted in the last five years and how it will shift in the next five. Editor's note: These responses were edited lightly for clarity and length. Question: What will ASC competition look like in five years? Dr. Brian Bacot: The trends for the future indicate that there will be higher utilization of ASCs and more procedures being approved to be performed there. Hospitals will need to react by becoming more involved with ASC development and partnership. Healthcare will certainly move away from centralized healthcare to outpatient procedures and outpatient services.This will herald a shift in increasing importance for ASCs as well as reevaluating how hospitals are utilized. Q: How has ASC competition shifted over the last five years? BB: The major shift in the ASC industry is its overall utilization in the healthcare arena. The overall cost savings and improved patient satisfaction has driven more and more procedures into the ASCs and away from hospitals, which are less efficient and have lower satisfaction measures. The recent pandemic has emphasized the importance of ASCs in the delivery of safe and efficient healthcare. n The top industry worries for spine surgeons: 4 insights By Ariana Portalatin A lack of access to innovative technology, mounting pressures from health systems and payer denials are among some of the top worries for spine surgeons today. Four surgeons recently spoke with Becker's about their industry worries and what they think these issues will mean for spine care. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity. Stephen Tolhurst, MD. President of the Texas Back Institute (Plano): My biggest industry worry is physician access to innovative and beneficial treatments for patients. Some large health systems and hospitals have consolidated their spine implant purchasing, with physicians only able to use implants offered by a few large companies. While this simplifies purchasing to some degree, in these arrangements it limits surgeon access to new and innovative products from smaller companies, which is frequently where we see novel treatments emerge. It also has the potential to limit surgeon access to the implants with which they feel most comfortable and most beneficial for their patients. Philip Louie, MD. Spine surgeon at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (Seattle): We are seeing major health systems publishing enormous losses in the first half of 2022. Short staffing, burnout and hospital capacity are compounding the stressors related to production targets that will be set to chip away at these heavy losses. With mounting pressures to produce financial and volume targets with limited resources (and temporary resources at many locations), there will be an enormous focus on producing quantity of work. I worry that all the work that we have accomplished in building value-based care pathways, developing quality-based programs and academic pursuits to innovate will take a back seat to providing the greatest volume of care to "catch up." We are all facing the same pressures,

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