Frost & Sullivan has released its latest analysis on ASCs, calling them “one of the most significant growth opportunities reshaping healthcare delivery worldwide.” It projects that the global ASC market will grow by more than 30% between 2024 and 2029, driven by “rising demand for efficient, cost-effective, and patient-centric care.”
The global business consulting and market research firm characterizes ASCs as “increasingly becoming a strategic pillar of healthcare infrastructure as providers, payers, policymakers, and patients seek more efficient models of care delivery.”
Paljit Sohal, Frost & Sullivan’s vice president of healthcare and life sciences, states that ASCs “are evolving from a supplemental care setting into a core component of future healthcare delivery” that are addressing “mounting pressure to improve access, reduce waiting times, optimize resources, and maintain high-quality outcomes.”
The firm notes that recent expansion of the ASC-covered procedures list by CMS has “created additional incentives for providers to shift appropriate procedures into ambulatory settings.” It adds that “as procedural complexity increases, ASC operators are expanding into higher-acuity specialties, including orthopedics, cardiovascular interventions, gastroenterology, and spine procedures. This evolution is creating new operational challenges around staffing, workflow optimization, patient monitoring, perioperative care, and discharge management.”
Frost & Sullivan states that providers are increasingly prioritizing “solutions that deliver measurable operational and clinical outcomes,” including “improved patient throughput, reduced operational complexity, faster recovery and discharge, enhanced patient safety, greater workforce productivity, improved care continuity, and lower total cost of ownership.”
It states that healthcare organizations are “moving beyond traditional purchasing criteria focused solely on device specifications and capital costs. Instead, investment decisions are increasingly driven by the ability of technologies and services to improve workflow efficiency, support staff productivity, and enable scalable growth.” Ms. Sohal adds that healthcare providers are “looking for partners that can help them optimize the entire outpatient surgical journey. Companies that combine clinical excellence with workflow intelligence, data connectivity, patient monitoring, and operational insights will be best positioned to capture growth in this rapidly expanding market.”
None of this will likely be news to most ASC leaders, but this analysis from an international renowned consulting firm can provide additional reinforcement when informing the C-suite and board members on the necessity of implementing strategies and tactics that allow ASCs to evolve and grow as the national and global movement toward ambulatory surgery continues and intensifies.
Read Ms. Sohal’s full analysis here.
