Demographic data can reveal so much about an ambulatory surgery center’s (ASC’s) patient population, revenue sources and scheduling challenges.
And understanding that data can be key to a surgery center’s success. New data from HST Pathways help underscore this idea.
HST researchers analyzed over 5.3 million cases across 635 ASCs from Q1 2020 to Q2 2025 to create descriptive benchmarks, aiming to illustrate the procedures different populations undergo and how those procedures appear in ASCs.
Two separate populations lead the way.
Patients under 21 most frequently visit ASCs for ear, nose and throat (ENT), and dental procedures. These procedures are typically quick, predictable and high-volume, researchers noted.
Older adults aged 61 to 80 lead in ophthalmology, orthopedics and total joint replacements, impacting operating room (OR) time and payments.
Procedures that typically require longer setup, more imaging and additional equipment, such as orthopedics and joint replacements, result in increased time in the OR. For most ASCs, that’s where the revenue comes from.
Dollars tend to follow resource intensity, according to HST experts.
“When you look at those older age groups and specific specialties, those are what really drive the majority of OR minutes and often, the payments associated with those procedures,” Will Evans, HST’s head of data science and insights, said on an Oct. 12 episode of This Week in Surgery Centers podcast. “When you take a look at what that means for day length and where the dollars land, you can trace where those dollars and payments map to specialties and age groups.”
Nashville, Tennessee-based HST Pathways provides software platforms for scheduling, charting, billing, inventory, estimates, communications and analytics to the ASC industry.
For example, when an ASC focuses on ENT and dental procedures, they are likely to see more patients with lower payments per procedure. Conversely, if they perform longer cases, such as orthopedics, they may handle fewer cases but receive higher payments per case.
“More OR minutes per case extend your days in the OR,” Evans said. “Dollars tend to follow the resource intensity.”
OR time and payments follow total joint replacement cases, Evans explained. There is a lot of money involved, but there is also high resource consumption. When scheduling, he suggested that ASCs carefully review OR times and specialties to determine how much time to allocate to each case.
Many specialties are balanced by biological sex, while some, like gynecology and urology, lean heavily toward female or male.
When examining the OR map by biological sex, researchers found that, within cardiology, women accounted for a 10-point positive OR share — 44% of the cases but 54% of the OR minutes.
In spine surgeries, men accounted for 44% of cases but used more than half of the OR time.
Demographic and procedural data are crucial for understanding ASCs’ operational dynamics.
The analysis reveals distinct patient populations and procedure types that significantly impact OR time and revenue. These insights enable ASCs to optimize scheduling, resource allocation and financial planning, ultimately enhancing their efficiency and profitability.
As the industry continues to evolve, leveraging such data will be vital for ASCs aiming to streamline operations and maximize patient care.
