At a health system, the shoulder sling a patient goes home in may come down to a contract signed far from the OR. A surgeon-owner at an Illinois ASC said physician ownership lets surgeons make that call.
“As simple as ice machines for patients postoperatively, or different splints and things, we may realize that certain ones are better for patient experiences than others, and we can implement those changes because we have the authority,” Xavier Simcock, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Oswego, Ill.-based Kendall Pointe Surgery Center, told Becker’s.
At a larger institution, he said, a systemwide vendor deal can leave surgeons using a product that doesn’t work as well in their setting.
“A bigger institution has a deal with this company, therefore we can only use this company, and in this setting, the shoulder sling is not as effective,” he said.
Kendall Pointe offered ENT, pain management and plastic surgery, and planned to add orthopedics, when ValueHealth, now NueHealth, acquired the center in January 2021, according to a news release at the time. In 2025, Illinois regulators reviewed a change of ownership that cut Kendall Pointe Holdings’ stake from 50% to 5% and gave Dr. Simcock a 31.67% stake. The center now describes itself as a physician-owned orthopedic and sports medicine ASC.
Dr. Simcock said the shift to orthopedics let the surgeons replace the arthroscopy equipment and the implant systems for total shoulders and hips with equipment they chose.
“We’ve been able to dictate directly what we want because we think it’s the best equipment, and it’s all brand new,” he said.
The center’s expansion cost more than $3.5 million. That included $1.5 million in new equipment: upgraded visualization, instrumentation, surgical lighting and Steris sterilization equipment, according to an Oct. 19 news release. The release also said NueHealth, which has managed the center since November 2020, worked with the physician owners to improve supply chain performance.
Supplies are one of the three biggest cost drivers in a surgery center, along with staffing and occupancy, said Dan Tasset, founder, CEO and executive chairman of Leawood, Kan.-based NueHealth. Drugs and medical supplies took up a median 26.4% of ASC net operating revenue, according to VMG Health’s 2022 Multi-Specialty ASC Benchmarking Study.
“If we’re going to guarantee our cost and we’re going to be competitive on the cost and guarantee that product, then [we] have to look at what are the big cost drivers in a surgery center,” Mr. Tasset said.
Physician ownership also gives the center flexibility on staffing, said Jorge Chahla, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and vice chair of the Kendall Pointe board. The owners can reward strong surgical techs and act quickly when staff aren’t a fit. At a big system, he said, that kind of change “usually takes a long time because it needs to go through multiple layers of leadership.”
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
