Cutting into the market: Rise of ambulatory surgery centers

More and more physicians are investing in ambulatory surgery centers as they seek more control and efficiency over the operating room. Primary care physicians -- and Wall Street -- are taking notice.

By Cheryl Jackson, AMNews staff. April 15, 2002.

When Susan Whitely, MD, has patients in need of surgery, the Phoenix family physician doesn't automatically assume they'll be checking into one of the local hospitals.

Depending on the specialty involved, her patient might get treatment in a physician-owned ambulatory surgery center.

"It's not so much that we prefer ambulatory surgery centers. But we prefer a quick treatment and an effective treatment in a safe environment," she said. "With orthopedic surgeons, a lot of them have backlogs in the OR in the hospitals around town."

More physicians like Dr. Whitely are seeing their patients treated in ambulatory surgery centers, which provide greater incomes to the increasing number of surgeons opening them -- and the increasing number of Wall Street partners entering the field.

Growth of physician-owned surgery centers was in the double digits last year, said Kathy Bryant, executive director of the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Assn. An exact number of centers was not available, but it is well into the thousands.

Technology that allows for less invasive surgeries, pharmaceutical advances and cost consciousness is fueling the expansion. Outpatient surgeries accounted for 70% of all U.S. surgeries performed in 2000, compared to 15% in 1980.

The number of surgeries performed in outpatient surgery centers increased 191% from 2.3 million in 1990 to 6.7 million in 2000. Center advocates say the facilities provide less costly and more efficient care.

Ophthalmology accounted for about 26.8% of procedures performed in the centers in 1998, according to SMG Marketing Group Inc., which tracks 3,300 facilities. [...]