ASC leaders share why they expect 2025 to be a good year for surgery centers and the ASC industry as a whole.
Last month, we published a blog post where several ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders and representatives from Surgical Information Systems (SIS) shared reasons why they considered 2024 a successful year. Below, ASC leaders, including several SIS representatives, discuss why they are optimistic about 2025.
ASCs: A Win-Win for Physicians, Clinical Staff, and Patients
Janet Carlson, MSN, BSN, RN, CRN, NE-BC, FACHE,
Executive Director of ASCs, Commonwealth Pain & Spine
" I think we're seeing ASCs get what I describe as a 'refresh' in the eyes of physicians and clinical staff, and that's going to benefit surgery centers throughout the year. This refresh is occurring because of factors like the continued consolidation of healthcare into large health systems, and that is negatively affecting the satisfaction of physicians and clinician staff like advanced practice providers, nurses, and sterile processing technicians. A lot of people are still burned out from COVID-19 and the developments of the past few years. Working in hospitals can add to that exhaustion, and we are seeing ASCs as the most logical and preferable solution for physicians and staff to segue out of that difficult environment.
What's also helping ASCs today is that a growing number of physicians, including younger doctors, are learning more about the ASC model and the value proposition of surgery centers. That's both from an ownership shares and financial perspective as well the benefits of performing surgery in an ASC, like gaining the ability to stay on top of surgical patient demand with guaranteed block time and get patients in sooner and faster for surgery while delivering awesome outcomes. All those levers translate to more success for physicians and more accessibility, affordability, and continuity of care for patients.
We're also seeing a lot of de novo activity, which demonstrates the growing demand for the ASC model. I'm building a number of surgery centers and rehabbing several others because we have many physicians looking to transition out of the hospital. The ASC makes the perfect landing spot for physicians of all types, whether they're early in their careers, in the middle of their careers, or they have a few years left but want to come to the ASC because they're done with the grind, being on call, and other challenges they've experienced in hospitals.
We have physicians who aren't even interested in buying shares in our ASCs because they're going to retire in a few years. They just want a place where they can do cases in an environment designed for their success. It's a win-win. "
Surgeons Embracing the Surgery Center Model
Dave Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer, OrthoNY
" We've come into 2025 with a lot of positive momentum. We're in the process of constructing a large building that will house our fourth ASC. When that opens in mid-2026, we'll be up to 18 operating rooms.
That is exciting, as is the overall growth we're experiencing. Our spine surgeons are continuing to embrace the surgery center model and recognizing that the ASC is the best place for so many of their procedures. We're expecting strong growth in our number of spine cases in 2025. The same is true for our total joint replacements. We came close to completing 2,000 total joints in 2024 and should easily surpass that figure this year.
These developments and others fuel my excitement for the future. It's clear that ASCs are the right site for surgery for so many reasons. It's the right place for patients given the outcomes and convenience of the surgery center experience. It's the right place for physicians as they can have ownership in the facilities and drive their growth and success. It's the right place for staff who want to work in a great environment and help deliver great care. It's the right place for payers too.
I have every reason to believe that throughout 2025, we'll continue seeing doctors who are eager about moving more of their cases to the surgery center. It just makes sense. And that should help make this year a big success."
ASCs Continue to Improve Access and Lower Cost
Jeffrey Flynn, CASC, Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, Gramercy Surgery Center, and President, New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (NYAASC)
" Last year, we had a big push to get those cardiac procedures approved by Medicare for ASCs to be approved in New York as we are not currently permitted to do those procedures in our surgery centers. I think we're on track to finally receive that approval this year, in part because we've been able prove how much this approval would save the Medicaid program alone. We've found success through, in part, working with other state associations like the California Ambulatory Surgery Association (CASA), which also seems to be on the cusp of getting approval for cardiology procedures for its state.
It also helps that there has been research showing that the approval of cardiology procedures for ASCs hasn't translated to a significant loss in cases for hospitals. What the approval has done is expanded cases. People are getting more access to care earlier, which is helping identify health issues faster and enabling patients to receive the care they need faster. I believe our ability to demonstrate the benefits of improving access is a compelling argument for us.
Another reason I'm optimistic about 2025 is that most people with commercial insurance are under self-funded plans. Those plans are increasingly pushing people towards surgery centers. We've developed good relationships with unions that have helped increase cases, and now we're working to do the same with specialty care networks like Lantern (formerly Employer Direct Healthcare) and Carrum Health. They are earning large contracts and then redirecting cases to ASCs. We're seeing the direct impact of this growing source for cases. At Gramercy Surgery Center, we hit 10,000 cases for the first time in 2024, and I suspect we'll surpass that figure this year. It wasn't long ago that 3,000 annual cases was something to celebrate.
I'm also bullish on 2025 because of the increased collaboration between the state associations and their members. For example, CASA and the Ohio Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers share a platform that they use to conduct benchmarking and provide that data to their members. NYAASC is about to join that benchmarking program with them. We've collaborated with the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society and Massachusetts Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers as well. We've done so much more coordinating between state associations this past year, and I think we're going to do much more of that in the year to come.
Finally, with Gramercy Surgery Center serving as a SIS Showcase site, this has provided us with the ability to speak with people in other ASCs throughout the country. We discuss SIS technology in these conversations, but we also tend to talk about other issues, like pain points and opportunities. While we have a lot in common, we also have different experiences and approach things differently, so these discussions are always very educational.
The ASC industry continues to achieve greater recognition of its value within our healthcare system, and this is leading to a better understanding of the importance of working together. We are feeling a strength in numbers as we're growing and want to take advantage of this position. The extensive cooperation we've experienced has been very positive and should only expand throughout the year."
Many Positive Developments for the ASC Industry
Lindsay Hanrahan, Vice President, Product Management, Surgical Information Systems:
" I'm looking forward to 2025 as I expect it to be an exciting year for ASCs and a great year for the products and services SIS delivers to them. Fundamentally, ASCs are in a very strong position and have so much going for them. The combination of excellent outcomes, lower costs, high patient satisfaction, and advances in technology are all making it easier to bring even more complex, high-value cases to the ASC setting.
Some of the challenges our industry has historically faced are trending in the right direction as we start the new year. Certificate of need (CON) laws are showing signs of weakening, which would be welcome news for continued ASC development and growth. Complex cases continue to be approved for the outpatient setting, and hopefully we'll see more procedures added to the ASC Covered Procedures list later this year. ASCs are increasingly turning to electronic solutions to help address challenges like resource strains and recapture time lost to inefficiencies. Improvements in both areas should result in a strong boost to surgery center performance.
On the advanced technology side, I'm thrilled about our continued efforts to increase automation and effectively leverage the use of new and improved solutions, including those that responsibly leverage artificial intelligence (AI), so ASC staff can focus more of their time on delivering great outcomes and providing an exceptional patient experience. We've come a long way in automating once-manual workflows, but there is still tremendous opportunity to introduce even more automation into ASCs. We love working with our customers to build out these solutions and will be doing plenty of this collaboration throughout the year.
I'm also excited about the increase in ways clients can and will be able to access and use their data in the cloud to better inform decisions and identify optimal paths forward. There is no limit to the ways data can help optimize the patient journey, improve outcomes, reduce costs, save time, and identify more areas for clinical, financial, and operational improvement. We at SIS are thrilled to be able to help our great customers leverage their data for good, and I think we'll see a lot more of these initiatives during 2025."
Creative Reimbursement Models Enhance ASCs' Market Position
Todd Logan, CASC, Chief Growth Officer, Surgical Information Systems:
"The 'iron triangle' concept suggests that it is possible to only achieve two out of three of the following: fast, cheap, or good. However, ASCs impressively defy this notion by delivering all three: faster access to procedures, lower costs, and higher quality compared to traditional hospitals. This successful — and one could argue disruptive — model continues to drive growth, further strengthening the position of ASCs as a key player in the evolving healthcare landscape.
Independent ASCs are taking on greater importance in their markets and leveraging this position by increasingly exploring and pursuing non-traditional reimbursement models, like bundled payments and direct contracts with self-funded employers, often facilitated by third-party administrators. In 2025, I expect the ongoing — and growing — tension between established commercial payers offering fee-for-service contracts and these disruptors with creative payment methods to shape the industry.
I believe ASCs will capitalize on their position of strength this year and improve it through investments in technology advancements. These will enable more complex procedures, including cardiology, total joint replacements, and spine surgeries, to continue migrating to surgery centers, further demonstrating the ASC model's long-term value. "
Ongoing Adoption of RCM Technology Strengthening ASC Financial Stability
Jessica Nelson, Vice President, Revenue Cycle Services, Surgical Information Systems:
" I expect 2025 to be a great year for ASCs, driven in part by ongoing technology advancements and continued adoption by surgery centers of these new solutions. Advancements in technology have an incredible opportunity to continue to revolutionize several areas of the ASC revenue cycle management process and further help ensure surgery centers are paid appropriately and consistently. I'm excited to see how advanced solutions like autonomous coding and automated appeals deliver significant bottom-line benefits to surgery centers.
I also think that this year's increased focus on patient satisfaction because of the 2025 OAS CAHPS mandate will ultimately benefit ASCs and their patients. Surgery centers are becoming the preferred choice for a growing number of patients thanks to the ASC model that delivers a convenient, comfortable, and cost-effective surgical experience. The OAS CAHPS mandate should benefit patients, giving them more opportunity to provide feedback on various areas of the surgical process. This feedback should then empower ASCs to identify areas for improvement that will strengthen patient care and make surgery centers even more appealing to patients while helping boost our healthcare system's efficiency as a whole."
ASC Performance Powering the Migration of Surgical Procedures
Daren Smith, Vice President of ASC Solutions, Surgical Information Systems
" I'm optimistic about the migration of surgical procedures to ASCs, which I expect will continue throughout 2025. This ongoing movement is largely driven by surgery centers continuing to focus on delivering exceptional patient care with an eye toward maintaining cost-effectiveness.
ASCs that successfully engage with their commercial payers to move more complex procedures and continue to embrace technology should see an even brighter future and find themselves reflecting on a successful 2025 when the year concludes. "
