Cataract outsourcing isn't just for facilities interested in adding laser
procedures. Plenty of centers still benefit by adding the pricey equip-
ment needed for manual surgery, including operating microscopes,
phacoemulsification machines, phaco handpieces, disposable supplies
and an inventory of lenses.
Charles Strasser, RN, CASC, administrator of the Allied Physicians
Surgery Center in South Bend, Ind., first partnered with an outsourc-
ing firm back in 2003 to bring manual cataract cases to his ortho-
heavy, 8-room surgery center, and now he's doing it again to add a
femtosecond laser.
He thought about purchasing the needed equipment for manual
cataracts when a lone ophthalmologist approached him about bring-
ing cases to the center, but the return on investment was too far down
the road based on the low number of cases they anticipated hosting.
The cataract volume grew enough at Allied Physicians Surgery
Center to allow Mr. Strasser to invest in his own equipment, but he
speaks highly of his partnership with the outsourcing company that
let him get his eye service line off the ground and made the growth in
procedure volume possible. Now he's outsourcing again as his facility
attempts to break into the laser cataract market.
A busy eye-only center expected to host hundreds of cases a
month would likely want to invest in its own equipment, but for cen-
ters like Mr. Strasser's that want to get a feel for the potential of
cataracts before investing in equipment of their own or simply want
to use the equipment and leave the upkeep to the experts, outsourc-
ing makes perfect sense. "If you're looking at getting into a special-
ty," says Mr. Strasser, "but don't want to spend your capital dollars,
outsourcing is the best option." OSM
E-mail dcook@outpatientsurgery.net.
1 0 3
J U N E 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
