Impact of Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Centers on Rural Community Hospital Performance, 1997-2006

摘要

Freestanding aambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) compete directly with hosiptal outpatient departments (HOPDs) for may medical procedures that can now be performed in an outpatient setting. This competition has intesified since 1982 when Medicare-certified ASCs were allowed to provide services to Medicare Benficiaries. As Market competition has heated up, so has the ongoing policy debated over the implications of this competition. Central to the ongoing debated is the impact of ASCs operations on hospital Financial performance. Research has helped inform policy in urban areas. However, studies have largely ignored the rural context. The absence of information about ASC versus hospital competition in rural areas can be especially problematic because of the fragile nature of rural hospital finances. This study begins to bridge that information gap by providing the first-ever picture of the impact of ASCs on rural hospital markets.