By: Isabel Hart, Boston Business Journal
Image: Gary Higgins, Boston Business Journal
Mass General Brigham is partnering with Regent Surgical to expand its ambulatory surgery center footprint, which it says will reduce costs.
Mass General Brigham has launched a new collaboration with Tennessee-based Regent Surgical in an effort to reduce costs and reduce wait times for some surgical procedures.
Regent is a for-profit outpatient care delivery management business. Its model is to open and manage ambulatory surgery centers, which are facilities where low-risk outpatient surgeries can take place, in joint ventures with health systems and physician practices. It manages surgery centers across 13 states.
Performing non-complex surgeries in an ambulatory setting typically results in lower costs to patients and insurers, according to the state Health Policy Commission. Massachusetts has fewer of these centers per capita than most states, according to HPC data. Most of the ambulatory surgery centers in Massachusetts are run by for-profit entities, according to the commission.
MGB did not disclose the financial terms of its partnership with Regent, but said the initiative is part of its effort to alleviate the capacity crisis in its hospitals.
“We know that our capacity crisis is exacerbated when we perform services in our hospitals that are appropriate for the lower cost, closer-to-home setting that an ASC provides,” said Dr. Thomas Sequist, chief medical officer of Mass General Brigham, in a statement. “Improving access to physician-led ASCs will better support physician referrals, lessen patient wait time for important procedures, and help respond to the extraordinary demand for services in our hospitals, ensuring that resources are available for those who truly need them.”
MGB did not say how many surgical centers it plans to open with Regent or where they will be located, but did say it plans to offer orthopedic, minor surgical, ophthalmological, and endoscopic procedures in the centers.