One of the most significant but inadequately discussed effects of COVID-19 is the impact of ongoing delays in “elective”/non-urgent procedures. For patients, these delays have contributed to extended pain and discomfort, worsening conditions, potential opioid use and other avoidable issues. For hospitals and surgeons, the delays have forced them to make difficult decisions concerning which procedures to postpone while also negatively affecting their bottom line. Further complicating matters is that elective surgeries are now also being postponed due to hospital staffing shortages. To combat these disruptions in care, a rapidly growing number of health systems are converting their surgical HOPDs to ASCs.
Shifting care to lower-cost, consumer-friendly ASC settings is a winning strategy for patients, providers and payers. Freeing up inpatient ORs for more acute cases while enhancing physician recruitment with an investment opportunity is smart business. In addition, the COVID pandemic has enforced the idea of hospitals as settings for “sick people,” highlighting an even greater need for a freestanding outpatient surgery location — or an additional site — as demand for ambulatory surgery is increasing.
Many hospital leaders realize converting their HOPDs to ASCs is often less expensive and faster than building a surgery center from the ground up. Repurposing ORs no longer used due to case migration away from the inpatient setting makes more sense than leaving them empty or spreading the remaining cases among all ORs, thus minimizing utilization.
Successful HOPD-to-ASC conversions require detailed planning and a strong understanding of how to navigate the process.
Avanza encourages healthcare executives to take the time to understand what makes HOPD-to-ASC conversions successful (and unsuccessful). Conversions often improve access to care and make good business sense. Even with the reduced reimbursement that comes with a freestanding ASC, achieving the lower cost structure often maximizes case profitability. But to do so requires more than a new name and a new license. Top-to-bottom shifts in organizational culture and decision-making are required to reap the full benefits.
If you’re considering converting an HOPD to an ASC, the Avanza team of outpatient surgery experts can help with due diligence to identify what will be necessary to achieve a successful, compliant conversion. After that, we’ll apply our many years of experience advising health systems on these types of conversions to guide you through key decision-making, implementation, licensure and accreditation processes.
About Avanza Healthcare Strategies
For more than 20 years, Avanza Healthcare Strategies has been a strategic leader in the migration of surgery from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers. Avanza has helped ASCs, hospitals and health systems in more than 40 states plan for and open surgery centers, convert hospital outpatient departments to ASCs, develop joint ventures and assess operations of existing ASCs and hospital outpatient surgical departments. Learn more about Avanza at avanzastrategies.com.