As Hospital ASC Development Continues to Accelerate, Health Systems are Seeking Larger Equity Stakes - Key Findings of 5th Avanza Intelligence Hospital Leadership ASC Survey

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Nov 08, 2023, 13:00 ET

Survey available for download; podcast scheduled with further data analysis

WESTCHESTER, Ill., Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanza Healthcare Strategies, a leading expert on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and outpatient services, has released the results of the 5th Avanza Intelligence Hospital Leadership ASC Survey.

The results for 2023 continue to illustrate the fluidity of the surgery center industry and how the overall outpatient market continues to mature. Key findings include:

ASC investments are accelerating and becoming central to the overall health system strategy. More than 7 out of 10 hospitals and health systems intend to continue investing in and affiliating with ASCs.
Ownership dynamics and equity incentives remain fluid. Hospitals prefer to have ownership stakes greater than 50%, and a growing number prefer to own 100% of their ASC.
Maturing market continues to impact operational strategies. Hospitals and health systems are considering alternative approaches to external partnerships.

"Investments in ASCs continue to increase, and we are seeing more and more focus on outpatient strategies as part of larger strategic planning," says Avanza Founder Joan Dentler, MBA. "The market is experiencing a confluence of events from pricing pressures, government regulation, and acceleration of complex cases being performed in ASCs. This is a dynamic market and many of our clients are working to get ahead of these competitive forces by developing a comprehensive, long-term strategy around ASC development."

Available for download here, the survey was conducted on Avanza's behalf by HealthLeaders Media, with input from C-suite and board members as well as financial, operational, and clinical leaders nationwide.

Drilling down on ownership trends, about two-thirds of the leaders surveyed indicated that when their hospital or health system is partnering or considering partnering with physicians for a joint-venture ASC, their organization holds or prefers to hold a majority equity stake in the surgery center. The survey uncovered a 61% increase in hospitals who own 100% of their ASCs from the previous survey.

"There is growing desire to have control over case migration for both clinical and financial reporting purposes," says Erik Miller, President of Avanza and its parent company, MedHQ. "Physician partners increasingly favor larger equity stakes from hospital and health systems in order to leverage payor contracting relationships and clinical operations."

Later this month, Joan Dentler will deliver a deeper dive into the survey's findings in a podcast with industry leaders.

About Avanza Healthcare Strategies

Avanza is an ASC and healthcare advisory organization supporting leading healthcare organizations in planning, developing, executing, and operating their ASC and outpatient strategies. In the last 20 years, Avanza has worked with more than 150 organizations and participated in more than 500 ASC projects, representing more than $200 million in customer revenue generation. Avanza Healthcare Strategies is a subsidiary of MedHQ, a leading tech-enabled service provider leveraging expertise across human resources, accounting, clinical staffing, and revenue cycle to empower outpatient strategies.

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SOURCE Avanza Healthcare Strategies