FEATURE


WILSON: In my experience, a true joint venture model where like-minded, quality surgeons partner with an effec- tive management company to create an award-winning, metric-achieving center that ends up lowering the over- all cost of high-quality care of those patients to the federal government and the other payers. Patients love it because it has the feel and efficiency of their physicians’ office operation but is properly managed and regulated by the other business partners.


What are the top five factors that will determine whether an ASC remains successful in this model? WILSON: The first two are outlined above. Achieving high-quality outcomes in a cost-efficient manner will inevitably attract business. Third, the management of the operation must be professional, resourceful, knowledgeable and committed to running an efficient center. Fourth, the physician owners must be involved and focused on the patient-centered goals of the center. This adds the true doctor-patient relationship to the mix, which is critically important. Fifth, there should be fair succession planning and continual opportunities to attract new physician owners.


How big a role will Medicare and other insurance companies play in the future of individual ASCs and the ASC community as a whole? WILSON: As usual, Medicare and other insurance companies will play a huge role in determining the future growth of the ASC community. Officials there must be constantly reminded that ASCs are an integral part of the overall health care delivery system and that ASCs are economically sound business ventures that regularly achieve high-quality out- comes with extraordinarily high patient satisfaction results in a cost-efficient and compliant manner.


16 ASC FOCUS FEBRUARY 2015


staffed, ASCs have a unique opportunity to achieve those goals.


As quality and cost consciousness increase, so do the opportunities for ASCs.”


—Mark Wilson, Dickinson Wright


Is it realistic for an ASC to consider joining an accountable care organization (ACO)? What are some of the questions that an ASC manager should ask before making a decision to become part of an ACO? WILSON: Yes, it is realistic for an ASC to consider joining an ACO. However, keep in mind that the larger and more diverse the ASC group, the more attribution and allocation problems it will have to overcome to be successful in the ACO marketplace. Understanding its own metrics and the goals and metrics of the prospective ACO population will be critical in determining a good fit. Exclusivity rules, revenue sharing protocols and ACO operational requirements will also be important factors.


What impact do you expect the consolidations in health care that we are seeing under the Accountable Care Act to have on ASCs in the long run? WILSON: As mentioned above, there is an ever-increasing focus on achieving quality outcomes in a cost-efficient manner. If properly managed and


In a recent interview in Detroit Legal News, you spoke about physician super groups. Could these groups align with ASCs or is there a way this model could be adapted to the ASC setting? WILSON: Certainly, an effectively run super group (like the ACO) that is clin- ically integrated can join together with an efficient ASC as one avenue to con- trol the costs of its patients’ popula- tion. Working conjunctively, they could develop the gold standard of treatment to achieve high quality outcomes while having control over the costs and effi- ciencies in their system.


What trends do you expect to see in ASCs in the next 5–10 years? WILSON: There will continue to be cost pressure applied to reimbursements as more patients seek care from the health care system. Those institutions and med- ical care providers that adapt the best will have significant opportunities for growth.


What effects will the changes we are seeing today and the changes you project in the future have on patients, costs and quality of care? WILSON: I think it is really too early to tell. Having the physician’s and institu- tion’s compensation tied to quality and cost measures may be the most effec- tive cost containment policy in place today. Patients and consumers were not educated to do it alone, but when you involve their medical advisers, then the dynamic changes. Implementation of that policy will be the challenge. The problem is compiling, analyzing and effectively translating the data into met- rics and the metrics into standards and incentives, all the while recognizing that an individual’s health and welfare is not a statistic.


Sahely Mukerji interviewed Mark Wilson.


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