Image by David Vives from PixabayThere’s a new anesthesia practice for one of health care’s largest markets – and it has its sights set on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).
Mount Sinai and U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. on Thursday announced the formation of the new venture, officially branded as Greater New York Anesthesia Services (GNYAS). Moving forward, GNYAS will serve ASCs as well as “select Mount Sinai hospitals in conjunction with the Mount Sinai Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine,” the announcement specified.
“This new anesthesia practice alliance will benefit the local community we serve by increasing patient access to high-quality, physician-led anesthesia care and by offering sustainable anesthesia services solutions for hospitals, surgery centers and private practices,” Dr. Jonathan Gal, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the president of GNYAS, said in a statement.
GNYAS is currently providing care at the Peakpoint Midtown West and Peakpoint Flatiron ASCs, along with New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
“Expansion plans will include other health care sites and the hiring of additional clinicians over the coming months,” noted the announcement.
On Mount Sinai’s end, the new alliance is spearheaded by Mount Sinai Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of the health system that has strategically invested in a wide variety of enterprises, including ASCs.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners has anesthesiologists and other clinicians working in more than 700 facilities across the country.
“Like health care in general, the specialty of anesthesiology has become tremendously more complex, with outside forces that are unpredictable,” US Anesthesia Partners anesthesiologist Dr. Kurt Jones said in a statement. “GNYAS and the new business services team help remove some of that complexity by optimizing recruiting, revenue cycle and other clinical and business operations – allowing clinicians to spend time providing compassionate, high-caliber care and fostering great patient outcomes.”
Anesthesia has been a persistent challenge for ASCs.
For starters, finding and retaining anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) with expertise in outpatient procedures can be difficult. Additionally, the growing shift of complex procedures to ASCs has increased demand for anesthesia services, exacerbating such staffing shortages.
Staffing and supply challenges are complicated by reimbursement.
Reimbursement for anesthesia services hasn’t kept pace with costs, putting pressure on ASC profitability. Insurance companies also generally have different reimbursement policies for anesthesia in outpatient settings compared to hospitals, complicating financial planning.
GNYAS touted two advantages of its model in Thursday’s announcement: facility and practice support, and data and analytics capabilities.
“Running a health care facility or private practice is complex, but with GNYAS and its business support organization, administrators have a partner that simplifies administrative, technical, regulatory and operational burdens, making it easier to concentrate on patient care,” the announcement continued.
