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Surgery Centers Are Leaving Hospitals in the Dust
It’s not just your imagination—the number of surgery centers is increasing while the number of hospitals is decreasing, according to JLL’s Healthcare Capital Markets Perspective.
The firm’s data indicates that surgery centers have grown 82% since 2000— nearly double—while hospitals have declined 5%. In fact, there are an equal number of surgery centers and hospitals across the nation (5,532 surgery centers vs 5,534 hospitals).
Today, two-thirds of surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis, an increase of 30% since 1990. JLL attributes the proliferation of outpatient surgery to medical and technological advances, including improvements in anesthesia. These advances expand the type of cases and surgeries that can be handled in an outpatient setting.
Patients and physicians alike seem to prefer freestanding surgery centers over hospitals. JLL notes that outpatient locations offer greater convenience, including improved scheduling with no disruption from unscheduled or emergency surgeries as in hospitals.
Cost also is a driver. Surgeries that occur in outpatient settings tend to cost less. On average, outpatient surgery charges are 57% of comparable hospital reimbursement rates, according to JLL. The firm notes that 61% of ASCs are single specialty, with gastroenterology, ophthalmology and pain management the most common. They offer endoscopy and colonoscopy, cataract and vision correction surgery, and pain management procedures, respectively.
Unlike hospitals, surgery center ownership is highly-fragmented. The top six operators of ASCs manage just 20% of all surgery centers. Physicians own the vast majority of them at 64%, while 29% are joint ventures between physicians, operators and/or hospitals. Only 7% of ASCs are 100%-owned by hospitals or a corporate provider.
The average surgery center has 15,447 SF and boasts three operating rooms.
For questions, comments or concerns, please contact Jennifer Duell Popovec
- ◦Development
