The pandemic affected ASC case volume and operations in several ways in the last year, with some centers adapting while others are struggling to stay afloat.
Here are the factors that could make or break an ASC within the next two years, according to seven administrators and physicians.
1. Case volume. ASCs base desired payer rates and budget projections on expected volume, which drives the surgery center’s revenue. If case volume falls short of expectations, the center will miss financial goals. LuAnne Jordan, administrator of Savannah (Ga.) F&A ASC, said her center will depend on boosting case volume to succeed in the next 24 months.
“We are a single-specialty surgery center and just limited as to what procedures we can do,” she said. “We need to recruit more physicians so we can increase our volume.”