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MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Employment Trends and ASCs A


s the national news media reported unemployment rates falling below 7 percent in 23 states at the end of last year, the health care industry reflected that trend. Overall, according to a November 2012 Bureau of


Labor Statistics report, employment in the health care industry rose by 296,000 in the preceding year. In October 2012 alone—the latest data available at press time—the health care industry added 31,000 jobs. Although data specifically related to ambulatory surgery were not reported, the report indicated that more than 25,000 of those new jobs were in ambulatory health care services. Projections for the outpatient care industry also showed a positive trend. According to “Emergency & Other Outpatient Care Centers in the US: Market Research,” a November 2012 report from the market research firm IBISWorld, the use of emergency and other outpatient care centers has gone up in recent years. At the end of 2012, revenue growth in that sector of the health care industry during the last five years was projected to be 4.6 percent on average each year—a figure that includes growth of 4.8 percent in 2012. One of the key reasons behind this growth, according to that report, is a rapidly aging population and its regular need for medical care. In the five years leading up to 2017, the report projects that the revenue growth will continue, with a spike in 2014, when the insurance exchanges kick in. The report also states that consolidation efforts will grow and large operators will be better able to take advantage of bundled Medicare reimbursement. Given the statistics, and the growing demand for ambulatory care that they indicate,


Seeking Authors


ASC Focus is seeking the contribution of articles by guest authors. If you have the expertise and time to write for us, we’d be interested in hearing from you. Please see our editorial guidelines at www.ascassociation.org/ Focus and submit your story proposal to smukerji@ascassociation.org.


6 ASC FOCUS FEBRUARY 2013


it’s a good time to be a part of the ASC community. With that in mind, this issue of ASC Focus is dedicated to topics that involve careers in ASCs. Read about some of the trends that ASCA’s 2012 Salary & Benefits Survey revealed on page 34. Learn how you can add to your resume with the Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC) credential on page 22. Find out more about some of the ASC personnel who work behind the scenes to provide essential services that are integral to a surgery center’s success on page 20. Also, read about benefits packages that work in ASCs on page 16, technology-based training in ASCs on page 25, outsourcing human resources activities in an ASC on page 30 and ASCA’s online career center on page 28. After you read this issue of Focus, please write to smukerji@ascassociation.org and let us know what else you would like to see in the magazine. Your input is important to us.


Bill Prentice Chief Executive Officer


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