By: Julie Washington, cleveland.com
Image: John Pana, cleveland.com
Clinic today announced a partnership with Regent Surgical to develop ambulatory surgery centers that enhance access and streamline the delivery of care.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Clinic has jumped on the national billion-dollar healthcare trend of creating outpatient surgery centers for minimally invasive surgeries such as knee and hip replacements.
The Clinic is partnering with Tennessee-based company Regent Surgical to build and operate a network of ambulatory surgery centers, which are an alternative to traditional hospital-based care, the Clinic announced Wednesday. At these centers, patients spent a short time recovering after surgery, then return home.
More hospitals – many of which are converting outpatient departments to ambulatory surgical centers — and private equity investors are entering an ambulatory surgery center market valued at $43.1 billion in 2023, according to industry watchers.
The Clinic and Regent Surgical will develop future surgical center locations across the United States. The Clinic is the majority owner of the joint venture and all surgery centers will carry the Cleveland Clinic name, the health system said.
Regent Surgical develops, manages and operates surgery centers in partnership with health systems in 13 states, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Texas and Florida.
The number of centers to be built, locations and timetables have not yet been determined, said Jim Cotelingam, vice president and chief strategy officer at the Clinic.
“Cleveland Clinic and Regent will work together to determine future ambulatory surgery centers locations in our markets,” Cotelingam said.
Hospitals are increasingly investing in ambulatory surgery centers because they are less costly to run than hospital outpatient departments, and more efficient, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center News newsletter.
“Ambulatory surgery centers provide an important setting for health systems to expand access to surgeries, and to be more efficient in the delivery of services,” Clinic CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic said in a statement. “Regent’s capabilities in managing and operating ambulatory surgery centers will enable us to focus on continuing to provide the highest quality care for our patients.”
There are about 6,000 ambulatory surgical centers in the United States, according to industry research firm IBISWorld. Between 2019 and 2024, the number of U.S. surgical centers grew nearly 6% per year on average, IBISWorld said.
Ambulatory surgical centers now perform more than half of all U.S. outpatient surgical procedures, including diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal conditions and ophthalmology procedures.