Viewpoint

Keeping up with ophthalmic ASCs

FROM THE CHIEF MEDICAL EDITOR

Larry E. Patterson, MD

Back when I started my training, there were just over 1,000 ASCs in the United States, and only a couple hundred were serving eye patients. Today, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association estimates around 6,000 ASCs exist, with almost a third devoted to ophthalmic procedures.

ASCs have grown in number thanks to the Medicare ASC reimbursement benefit in the early 1980s, advances in ophthalmic equipment and implants, payer and patient demand for less expensive care and the entrepreneurial spirit of pioneering surgeons. It’s a quiet revolution in health care.

The Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgical Society (OOSS) reports that nearly 80% of all cataract surgeries are performed in ASCs, allowing surgeons greater control, efficiency and profitability. With recent changes in reimbursement schedules, other ophthalmic procedures, notably retinal, are moving to the ASC as well.

So I’d like to plug a sister publication, The Ophthalmic ASC, introduced in 2011 and enclosed with this issue. Brought to you from the same fine folks who bring you this magazine, The Ophthalmic ASC is about maintaining our edge in this ever-changing field, both with our patients and the payers. Importantly, this is a publication that focuses on issues pertaining to ophthalmic ASC procedures, management and surgical techniques. The Ophthalmic ASC publishes quarterly, reaching 10,300 ophthalmic surgeons who either own an ASC or who operate in one.

The readership numbers of this publication really blew me away. (Really, would I devote a column to this topic if you felt the publication was awful?) A survey of readers found 81% of respondents recalled receiving the publications. Do you get as many supplements as I do? If so you’ll understand why we we’re thrilled with that number.

Among readers who recalled getting it, 88% read part of it. The part that really got me: 75% read or at least looked at every page of the issue. I thought I was the only one that actually turned every single page and either glanced at or read the whole thing. I can’t wait to report this to my support group. I am not alone!

The current issue, as always, is chock full of helpful articles. Dr. Pravin Dugel discusses what a retinal specialist is looking for in an ASC. Steve Sheppard helps us maximize profits by calculating costs. Other experts share tricks of the trade, including EHR. Finally, we’ll have articles focused on staffing and coding.

Bottom line: This really is a good supplement, and if you are operating in an ASC I don’t think you will regret giving this publication a good read. And if you aren’t yet in an ASC, take a look anyway. As the government is slowly realizing, it’s paying nearly double for surgeries in hospital outpatient departments compared to ASCs. Hospitals have been buying up freestanding ASCs and charging their higher fees in them. If you’re not already, it’s likely just a matter of time before you too will be operating in an ASC. OM