How does an Ambulatory Surgery Center manage the continuum of care and associated risks without the traditional infrastructure of hospitals, while also keeping costs under control?

In 2021, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) authorized payment to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) for outpatient hip replacement surgeries, adding to the outpatient knee replacement surgeries authorized the previous year. 

The size and projected market growth for outpatient total knee and hip replacement surgeries represent tremendous opportunity—with a projected $13.5B in total joint replacement (TJR) business for ASCs, and nearly half of all joint replacement surgeries expected to move to outpatient centers by 2026.

But while the market and opportunity for ASCs is enormous, so are the challenges, as:

How Do You Make Sure Your Patients Get the Message?

According to the CDC, “reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses, like flu, this fall and winter is more important than ever.” Keeping people healthy during flu season and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic will be particularly important – and challenging. So how do hospitals, health systems and medical practices attract patients’ attention, counter misinformation and successfully urge patients to get the flu vaccine? How do you ensure that patients receive critical messages that can impact care, outcomes and cost?

With losses of more than $202.6 billion during the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. healthcare is suffering and there’s no end in sight. Healthcare organizations and providers have quickly turned to telehealth to maintain care, increasing its use by 50% in primary care alone.