Key ASC Benchmarks Released

New industry figures and key benchmarks were released by Avanza Healthcare Strategies in mid-March 2022, and they provide a pulse check on ASC operations and help drive decision-making for OR leaders and industry. Some results were not surprising as the ambulatory surgery community continues to grow and expand its reach into the healthcare marketplace.

The annual ASC growth rate was reported as 2.5% with more than 6,000 Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) in the United States. The location of these facilities is largely in urban areas, with 93% practicing there, and 16% were cited as “large” or “mega” operations in terms of size with 5 to 7 operating rooms in the facility. More than half – 54% – were cited as “small” with 1 to 2 ORs and 30% were noted as “medium” with 3 to 4 ORs.

The national average of the number of specialties served per ASC is 2.84. The fasted growing ASC specialty is cardiology, and the report noted that the specialties receiving the highest estimated Medicare payment increases in 2022 are cardiology, musculoskeletal and urology.

As the marketplace looks at the specialties moving to ASCs and shifting ownership models, the Avanza report indicates that fully 60% of the nation’s ASCs are owned by Physician Only, 17% by Hospital-Physician, 13% by Corporate-Physician, 5% by Corporate Only, 3% by Hospital Only and 2% by Other. For more on ownership trends check out Outpatient Surgery Magazine’s March cover story here. OSM