Establishing service lines in ambulatory surgery centers

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare industry could fill an entire academic curriculum at this point, let alone a single article. But one potential silver lining among the storms of bad news is the increasing migration of elective procedures from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Although ASCs were not immune to the effects of the pandemic—with mandated shutdowns, supply chain challenges, patient reluctance or availability, and more—the industry-wide trend of moving applicable cases to dedicated facilities accelerated in 2020 and 2021 and shows no sign of slowing down so far this year.