The investment physicians may prefer to Apple, Tesla

Despite many physicians migrating to hospital employment, investment in ASCs is still a long- term strategy for physicians to maintain financial and operational stake in a surgery center. 

ASCs are a more personal investment opportunity for physicians — physician investors in ASCs increase revenue by sharing in the ASC facility payments, for example. 

"By investing in their ASC operation, physicians can capture the facility portion of the reimbursement schedule, providing additional income for the work and investment they’ve put in," Collin Hart, CEO and managing director at ERE Healthcare Real Estate Advisors in Costa Mesa, Calif, told Becker's. "Try doing that with your Apple or Tesla stock."

James Hays, MD, ophthalmologist at Woolfson Eye Institute in Atlanta, is a 16 percent owner in the institute's ASC, and has madea return on investment each year of about 25 percent for the last 11 years, he told Becker's

"I do have some, though minimal, control over profitability in our center," he said. "Although my voice is fairly small, it is louder than it would be with almost any other investment."

Investment in an ASC forgoes the traditional passive investment, often allowing physicians to control and grow their income based on their work. 

These investments are considered a long-term strategy, John Brock, director of Progressive Healthcare in Brentwood, Tenn., told Becker's. Physicians can participate in ASC financial success through utilization and governance. 

Additionally, independent physicians earn on average 0.8 percent more than physicians employed by hospital-owned practices. And physicians can perform more procedures in ASCs than hospital outpatient surgery centers over the same time period due to the efficiency of surgery centers, so they can earn more revenue from professional fees. 

"Investing in an ASC is investing in yourself," Jack Jensen, MD, a surgeon at Athletic Orthopedics & Knee Center in Houston, told Becker's. "Not only do you know more about the ASC investment than a public stock, you are an insider regarding the functioning of the ASC."

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