Image by Gerd Altmann from PixabayThere’s no denying that artificial intelligence is influencing ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by enhancing efficiency.
And leaders are further exploring how AI can streamline tasks while building staff trust in the technology.
The ongoing improvement of administrative tasks is important; however, these tools must be user-friendly to gain support.
Dr. Greg Horner, a general partner at Seattle-based venture capital firm Untethered Ventures, noted that the number of administrative workers in health care has increased over the last 20 years, mainly due to the complexity of regulations.
AI assists staff in managing repetitive tasks, like documentation, enabling clinicians and others to work “at the top of their license,” Horner told ASC News.
According to Horner, it is the responsibility of technologists developing AI tools to ensure a good user experience.
If a significant behavior change is needed, that tool is likely to fail.
“Surgery centers have nurses and staff who come and go,” Horner explained. “These folks must handle the technology and be able to work with whatever platforms the administrator introduces under their board’s guidance. So, the technology needs to offer a good user experience, and the products must connect with the user to be accepted.”
A key initiative of Horner’s firm and the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) is to establish a link between surgery center administrators and tech companies, enabling tech companies to gather feedback from these ASC administrators to improve their products and achieve better market fit.
To that end, they have established a user group, ASC IQ, comprising ASC administrators and early technology adopters eager to share feedback with technology companies.
“Technologists need to find design partners and early adopters, and we’re hoping to improve that process through ASC IQ,” Horner said. “But, to reach the majority of more conservative surgery centers, they have to refine their product and make the user experience easy. Otherwise, they aren’t going to cross the chasm from early adopters to the majority of pragmatic users of technology.”
While employees are often hesitant to adopt new technologies, proof of efficiency typically gains their trust. Even so, transparency and education remain essential.
Marc McComas, vice president of regional operations for Solara Surgical Partners, said his team started small, with pilots in areas such as case scheduling and inventory management, and shared performance data openly. Once teams saw consistent, measurable results, trust was built.
“Initially, there was understandable hesitation, but when people saw how much repetitive work it eliminated — especially around scheduling, inventory tracking and documentation — the response shifted positively,” McComas said. “We continue training extensively and focus on demonstrating how AI supports their work, not replaces it.”
A look into the future
Since adopting AI, Solara has experienced shorter room-turnover times, fewer cancellations on the day of surgery and a stronger alignment of case mixes across certain specialties, according to McComas.
Patient satisfaction scores have also reportedly increased as scheduling accuracy has improved.
As a result, McComas sees a positive future for AI tools at Solara.
“I think we’ll see AI drive smarter scheduling, pre-op risk prediction and even supply chain optimization,” he said. “The biggest wins will come from using data to anticipate – not just react to – bottlenecks. The more predictive our operations become, the more consistent our outcomes and growth can be.”
Importantly, he believes AI will help ASCs expand the range of procedures they offer and improve their ability to compete with hospital outpatient departments by managing complexity safely, enabling ASCs to handle higher-acuity procedures.
“As technology matures, it levels the playing field, allowing centers like ours to deliver hospital-grade precision in an outpatient environment, but with efficiency and patient experience,” McComas said.
Early deployment of a tool called AssistIQ, which leverages AI and computer vision to add efficiency to supply and implant management, has already demonstrated measurable improvements, according to Matt Pavolec, patient care manager at Allina Health.
Teams capture more billable products, strengthen revenue integrity and reduce staff documentation workload, he said. These improvements provide Allina Health with the resources and reliable data necessary to support its long-term goal of achieving excellence in patient care.
“Our care team members feel the difference right away,” Pavlovec said. “Instead of dealing with barcode scans that may not register or having to manually document, our teams can capture every product quickly and accurately while keeping their focus on the patient. More importantly, this improved accuracy helps ensure we have the right product on hand for the next patient.”
Horner believes that in five years, ASCs will have patients who can sign all their documents, answer questions and register for procedures through an app.
“The front end should be a digital-first approach to gather all necessary information and consents, so a patient can walk in with a QR code and proceed directly to receive an IV without worrying about paperwork,” he said. “It should be purely clinical when the patient shows up. That will create more efficiency in terms of getting the throughput.”
