Time for Timeshare Surgery Centers?
Surgeons can lease ORs, staff and equipment from an existing facility.
C
an ASCs oper-
ate as time-
share proper-
ties? Yes, thanks to a
little-known CMS rul-
ing that lets multiple
ambulatory surgery
centers use the same
physical space, includ-
ing the same operating
rooms, on separate
days of the week. Timeshare ASCs must be dually licensed by the
states in which they operate and they can't have concurrent or over-
lapping hours of operation.
These condo or "entity within an entity" arrangements let surgeons
lease staff and equipment as needed without the multimillion-dollar
burden of land acquisition, construction, equipment and staffing.
Although some states, including Florida, won't license multiple ASCs
for the same address, timeshare centers are popping up across the
country.
"Leasing outpatient operating room space is a cost-effective way for
single-specialty physicians to acquire ASC space," says Beverly
Kirchner, RN, BSN, CNOR, CASC, founder of Texas-based
SurgeryDirect, which teamed with a local hospital and a neurosur-
geon to develop a dual-licensed ASC that opened last month in
Littleton, Colo.
Keeping odd hours
2 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 1 6
Business Advisor
Daniel Cook
• EVERY OTHER FRIDAY Dual-licensed ASCs can't have concurrent or overlapping hours of operation, and they must
clearly state
their days and times of operation.
SurgeryDirect
