Hospitals partnering with ASCs to perform outpatient total joints

Editor's Note

With the growth of ambulatory surgeries and the shift to Medicare reimbursement for outpatient hip and knee replacements, hospitals are acquiring and forming joint ventures with ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the August 5 Modern Healthcare reports.

This allows hospitals to keep part of the revenue and better aligns with interests of surgeons who prefer ASCs because of their greater efficiency, the report says.

Though some remain unsure, optimism is growing among hospitals and surgeons groups who believe total joints are going to the outpatient setting, regardless, and they should do it together.

With the looming financial threat from the migration of lucrative hip and knee replacement procedures to outpatient settings, some hospitals and health systems have acquired ambulatory surgery centers or formed joint ventures with surgeons in these centers. That allows hospitals to keep a piece of the revenue.