Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, an academic medical center based in Los Angeles, has agreed to develop a network of ambulatory surgery centers throughout the area with Surgical Care Affiliates, a publicly traded operator of surgical centers.
Industry observers, including Moody's Investors Service, view ambulatory surgery centers as a growing business line. More procedures are being taken out of hospital outpatient departments and into facilities considered to be more cost-effective, like surgery centers. However, surgery center safety was thrown into the national spotlight last month after comedian Joan Rivers died following an endoscopy performed at an outpatient center.
