How Recovery Care Centers Can Be Financially Viable for Spine ASCs

Spine
Heather Linder -

At the 11th Annual Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference on June 14, John Newman, senior vice president and general counsel for Constitutional Surgical Centers, talked about recovery care services for orthopedic ASCs. He shared how orthopedic and spine-driven surgery centers can develop legal and profitable recovery care centers. ASCs are limited in the duration and scope of the services they can provide. However, a recovery care center can allow them to perform more significant care, he said.

Benefits of developing a recovery center include:
•    Growing the ASC market
•    Increasing profits
•    Benefits in recovery time for patients
•    Attracting practitioners
•    Providing an additional convenience for patients and families

Centers should always be cognizant of recovery center guidelines, which vary from state to state. Often, these centers cannot be used for Medicare patients and have very specific components for the physical plans and services.

Clinical issues to consider include:
•    Choosing medically appropriate patients
•    Having a post-surgical family support system
•    Knowing patient BMI and health history
•    Educating patients and families prior to surgeries

"Recovery care centers can be a terrific opportunity," Mr. Newman said. "They come with associated challenges. You have to look at the marketplace, understand the payer community and do a complete risk assessment of the challenges they might bring."

He also encourages centers to work with their state regulators and engage in thorough dialogue between legal and clinical experts to make sure all needs are met.

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