Growing numbers of orthopedic, spine, and cardiovascular procedures in Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) will change the status quo in implantable medical device contracting.
Medical device companies have experienced continued pressure over the last two decades to lower implant pricing in the acute care setting driven primarily by reductions in reimbursement. So, how do they reach even lower price points with ASCs given even lower reimbursements and surgeon ownership with a vested interest to achieve profitability?
In the past, ASCs have enjoyed cost or cost plus payer contracts on implants with little pressure to lower implant costs. As a result, medical device companies have enjoyed some of their highest average selling prices at ASCs, but it only represented a small percentage of their overall business. So, how do medical device companies align with the steady movement from inpatient surgeries to ASCs with lower reimbursements?
Medical device companies are talking about it, but how will they strategically align on ASC pricing without significantly impacting their acute care pricing? The New Status Quo will require the following alignment with surgeons, ASCs management companies and device companies:
| Status Quo | New Status Quo |
| Facility price agreements | Regional contracts with management companies |
| No standardization | High compliance contracts across multiple facilities |
| Low volume | High volume contracts across multiple facilities |
| Non-optimized inventory | Streamlined inventory |
| Acute care service model | Reduced service model with self-sufficient staff |
| Unlimited implant suppliers | 1-2 implant suppliers |
Relatable Healthcare's proprietary software platform provides actionable business intelligence for medical devices. Our recent multi-facility study identified significant opportunities for alignment between medical device companies, surgeons, ASCs and their management companies. The Relatable software assists with data standardization, analytics, and insight cultivation to drive the highest quality care at the lowest possible cost in every healthcare facility.
If you are curious about Relatable, let us know through the contact form below. We'll set up a time to talk and show you a demo.