The United States has the finest health care in the world, which is primarily delivered through private insurance carriers. Competition, capitalism and choice have provided the health care quality and state-of-the-art technology that is the envy of the world. When King Abdullah of Jordan sought the best care in the world, he didn’t go to Canada or France, he came to the United States. Ambulatory surgery centers (ACSs) provide a critical role in increasing quality and containing cost. However, these achievements have taken place in an environment of competition and private payors.
5 Challenges and Best Practices for Transitioning Office-Based Pain Management Procedures to an ASC With Dr. Brannon Frank
Pain Management physicians who currently perform their cases in an office-based practice may benefit from moving cases to an ASC, according to Brannon Frank, MD, a pain management physician with Austin (Texas) Pain Associates and a partner and medical advisor in Arise Healthcare, an ASC management and development company.
ASCs provide safer environments for patients because they undergo more licensing requirements and oversight and may provide financial benefits to the physician depending upon his or her equity in the ASC. When physicians perform in-office procedures, they generally receive a professional fee plus a site of service differential, often an additional 10 percent. In the ASC setting, physicians receive a professional fee and then divide the facility fee among the owners, he explains. If a physician has a considerable investment in an ASC, he or she could make more money in the long run by moving cases to that ASC.
Stonegate Surgery Center
This all-in-one pain management haven, Austin Pain Associates Medical Center, is a definitive model of the future. What began as Dr. Robert Wills’ pioneer insight is now a tri-entity medical campus serving a once underserved area in South Austin. The 5,500 square foot, three OR, Stonegate Surgery Center is nestled within the compounds of a 3,000-squarefoot physical therapy facility — consisting in part of one large treatment room, a gym, and 10 exam rooms — and an adjacent 8,500-square-foot physician office suite.
