More than 60 percent of ASCs are still physician-owned. While linking up with a management company may increase a center's chances of success, many independent ASCs can manage quite well, says Keith M. Metz, MD, medical director of Great Lakes Surgical Center in Southfield, Mich. "Management companies are solid professionals and they are competent," he says, "but if your have good fundamentals, you can operate your own ASC, just like you can sell your own home without using a real estate agent." Dr. Metz offers six ways an ASC can keep independent and prosperous.
1. Make sure fundamentals are sound. As long as an ASC has the right fundamentals, such as enough physicians in the right specialties, with prospects of sufficient volume, it can be a prosperous operation.
2. Designate a managing partner. The independent ASC needs a physician-owner who has the interest and the skill set to actively manage the center, Dr. Metz says. The managing partner does not need to go out and get an MBA or even a business course, but this person does have to invest a significant amount of time in the operation, away from clinical work. For this reason, compensation should be in the six-figure range. "You can't impose this job on anyone," he adds. "It involves a great deal of commitment."
3. Focus on sustainability. Corporate partners focus on achieving growth, but growth is not necessary for an independent ASC. "As long as I have an ASC that is functioning well, it's not so important that it grows," Dr. Metz says.
4. Outsource some functions. Management companies can offer special skills that a single ASC does not have, such as preparation for an accreditation visit or proper procedures for firing an employee. But there are outsourcing opportunities for any kind of service an ASC would need, Dr. Metz says. For example, a law firm that focuses on ASCs may be able to provide human resources expertise.
5. Not everything needs to be outsourced. Many more functions could be outsourced, such as bookkeeping and accounting, billing, IT and financial oversight, but they can also be done in-house, he says.
6. Use external resources. A managing partner can develop sophisticated financial and quality benchmarks for the center using outside resources, such as quality benchmarks published by the Ambulatory Surgery Foundation.
Learn more about Great Lakes Surgical Center.