An Inside Look at Outpatient Care
Venn Opens Doors to the Future of Healthcare and ASC Growth
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are changing healthcare delivery as well as the market for medical devices and equipment. By putting lower-risk procedures in a more convenient setting, ASCs can offer surgical procedures at rates of up to 50 percent lower than hospitals. All this is resulting in nearly $40 billion in annual savings for the U.S. healthcare system while also fueling ASC growth.
In 2017, ASCs performed more than half of all outpatient surgeries in the country, and their influence is only set to grow with orthopedic, spine, and cardio procedures poised to increase the fastest in ASCs. In 2018, more than 5,700 operating centers were up and running, performing more than 23 million procedures altogether. Some of those ASCs are right here in the Phoenix area, and many have been built and led by Venn Construction.
Venn has been at the forefront of ASC growth in the Greater Phoenix area working with valuable partners, including developers, architects and brokerage teams, to get the job done. This has resulted in projects like Akos, Civic Center, and Auviana, a state-of-the-art modern medical and professional office condominium development in Surprise, to help those in need while allowing technologies like telemedicine to help others.
From population growth to more access to telemedicine to new technologies taking over the market, ASCs are riding the next wave of healthcare service, and Venn is moving that growth forward.
What’s Driving Growth
Wide-ranging industry trends are behind the advancement of ASCs. A continuous rise in healthcare spending has put more stress on costs and margins throughout the healthcare industry, encouraging a move to outpatient care. For physicians, ASCs allow for operational ownership and more control over their own surgery options compared to hospitals.
The business model at most medical tech companies is made with large hospitals and provider systems in mind. For ASCs, which are more agile and streamlined in their services, that kind of large-scale commercial business model is too costly and overly complicated. More importantly, surgeons at ASCs have more direct influence over purchasing decisions for medical devices and equipment compared with surgeons working with hospital systems. When it comes down to it, doctors are the primary decision-makers in ASCs and have a direct influence on the decision to purchase medical devices.
Physicians in ASCs, such as plastic surgeons, are likely to use innovative purchasing models and are more willing to use untraditional local services, including 24-hour remote availability instead of on-site technicians. This tech-forward option is helping to change the relationship between physician and patient for the better and is aiding in the push toward more available telemedicine for those in need.
Venn’s Role in ASCs
Venn continues to be the vanguard of healthcare trends in Arizona. While not directly involved in the service part of the industry, Venn is partnering with telemedicine groups to offer more available services and resources to rural Arizonans and metropolitan residents alike. More specifically, Venn recently finished a 68,000-sf ASC space in Avondale with the goal of bringing more admittance to the growing population. When Venn began this endeavor nearly two years ago, the idea of COVID was not in sight. But as many other sectors have realized through the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare has been forever changed and telemedicine has quickly become the way of the future.
Outpatient facilities, such as ASCs, are projected to grow by more than 15 percent over the next five years, and 30 percent by the end of the decade. And with more than 35 million Maricopa County residents receiving outpatient care in 2019, the future is bright for both the industry and the influencers behind it. Whether it’s onsite surgery procedures or virtual one-on-ones between patient and surgeon, Venn has helped provide the physical space to serve the community.
The secret to any good business is to understand the next big wave of opportunities in the market. This couldn’t be any truer and have come at a better time as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused people to need more acute care while they also try to limit their exposure to the outside world. By working with architects and real estate leaders to create ASC space, Venn has helped physicians and their teams serve the Phoenix area more readily and widely through ASC construction.
For more information on Venn, to discuss next construction project, or to be considered for an upcoming story call (602) 325-1450 or email stephanie.fogelson@venncompanies.com
