ASCs surge as hospitals and investors chase outpatient growth
Editor's Note Hospitals, physicians, and private equity are accelerating their push into lower-cost outpatient care. According to Colliers US Healthcare Services Research Report Q3 2025, published on September 22, ambulatory surgery center (ASCs) procedure volumes are projected to grow 9% between 2023 and 2028—outpacing hospital outpatient department growth at 7%—and…
Bariatric surgery outpaces GLP-1s in weight loss, cost savings
Editor's Note Bariatric surgery delivers greater weight loss and lower long-term costs than GLP-1 medications, Ambulatory Surgery Center News September 18 reports. A new JAMA Surgery study of more than 30,000 patients found that surgical patients lost nearly three times as much weight as those on medication while generating meaningful…
Ambulatory general surgery safe for older adults when patients are carefully selected
Editor's Note Older age alone should not exclude patients from ambulatory general surgery. A retrospective study published in Cureus on August 27 found that patients over 75 undergoing short-stay general surgical procedures experienced complication and reintervention rates comparable to younger peers, despite higher comorbidity and anesthetic risk scores. The analysis…
Outpatient artificial disc replacement proves safe, efficient, game-changing for spine surgery
Editor's Note Artificial disc replacement (ADR) no longer requires a hospital stay. In one of the largest analyses to date, a California surgical team reviewed 1,043 outpatient ADR cases over 6 years and found zero immediate hospital transfers, zero transfusions, and every patient discharged home in under 24 hours, LA…
Study identifies risk factors for PE and DVT after ambulatory surgery
Editor's Note Pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are rare after same-day surgeries, but when they occur, they carry high risks of death and readmission. According to Anesthesiology News May 12, a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center analysis of more than 1.1 million outpatient procedures found an…
August poll results: Service line shifts push ASCs to expand capacity, redefine readiness
The migration of surgical cases from inpatient settings to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continues to reshape perioperative leadership in 2025. Nationally, the trend is driven by payer incentives, patient preference, and cost pressures, with ASCs now performing more orthopedic, spine, and complex outpatient procedures than ever before. In fact, the…
CMS plan to phase out inpatient only list sparks debate over safety for vulnerable patients
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is moving to eliminate its Inpatient Only (IPO) List over the next 3 years, a decision that could permanently shift more surgical procedures from hospitals to outpatient settings. According to an August 24 article from Fierce Healthcare, the policy promises…
Artificial disc replacement proves safe, efficient, cost-saving in outpatient spine surgery
Editor's Note Artificial disc replacement (ADR) in the cervical spine can be performed safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively in outpatient/ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), Ortho Spine News July 31 reports. The article details research from Steven J. Girdler, MD, of DISC Surgery Center, who reviewed 6 years of data from 1,043 patients…
Hospital margins improve as outpatient revenue accelerates, but costs loom
Editor's Note Hospital operating margins rose in June as outpatient revenue growth fueled stronger financial performance, though rising bad debt and non-labor expenses continue to pressure stability, according to Kaufman Hall’s latest National Hospital Flash Report. HealthLeaders August 18 covered the findings. As detailed in the article, the median year-to-date…
Study: Medicare Advantage surgical episodes cost less, achieve similar quality as traditional Medicare
Editor's Note Medicare Advantage (MA) patients undergoing elective surgery incurred lower costs than comparable patients in traditional Medicare (TM) without higher readmission rates and with no significant difference in mortality rates, according to a study published August 1 in JAMA Health Forum. The findings suggest that MA plans reduce surgical…
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