Ambulatory Surgical Centers IT Services Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Boosted prevalence of chronic diseases: The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, ADHD, Alzheimer’s, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and central nervous system (CNS) disorders are influencing the ambulatory surgical centers IT services market value. National Library of Medicine in 2018 estimated that about 1 out of 3 adults suffer worldwide from multiple chronic conditions. Driven by this, there is an increasing demand for surgical procedures and medical interventions.
  Furthermore, according to the National Institutes of Health Report 2023, there has been an increase of about 7% from 67% of deaths in 2010 to 74% of deaths in 2019, globally which are caused by chronic conditions. An efficient and practical way to handle medical requirements is through ASCs, which give patients access to specialized care without requiring extended hospital stays. In addition to meeting the healthcare needs of an aging population, the need to perform treatments and surgeries in an outpatient setting helps ease the burden on conventional hospital facilities, promoting the growth of ASC services.
• Increasing business intelligence and data analytics: Business Intelligence and data analytics technologies allow ASC IT systems to analyze their operational data, such as patient flow, resource utilization, and inventory control. According to the World Economic Forum report 2023, data scientists and data analysts are expected to become the highest emerging jobs worldwide. Furthermore, by finding shortcomings or constraints in their processes, ASCs can improve patient throughput, reduce costs, and streamline their operations. Data analytics can be used to streamline ASC revenue cycle management processes. Additionally, the self-service BI market revenue has increased tremendously augmented by the propelled adoption and growing usage of ambulatory surgical centers IT services.

Challenges

• Reimbursement issues: ASCs may experience uncertainty due to differences in the rates and policies of reimbursement from various insurance companies and government initiatives. This is anticipated to adversely impact their financial stability coupled with complicated invoicing and coding practices unique to outpatient settings that can cause payment delays or disagreements. This may hinder certain healthcare providers from adopting ASC services and impede the ambulatory surgical centers IT services market share.
• Complex healthcare system nature: The different IT systems that are used in ASCs lack standardized interfaces, protocols, and data formats. This inconsistency makes it difficult for systems to exchange information without interruption. ASCs often use multiple software packages for various purposes, such as EHR, practice management, scheduling, invoicing, and billing. Inefficiencies and data silos may arise from poor communication between these systems. Such complex features can hamper the ambulatory surgical centers IT services market expansion.