L. Kersh1, S. Nandal1, P. Walia1, J. Salazar1, T. Abdalla1, K. Anton1 1Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Introduction: We evaluated the Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) landscape in the state of Pennsylvania to better understand the services provided and identify potential issues related to access in rural vs. urban areas.
Methods: Data was collected from open-source public databases and an in-depth literature search. Pennsylvania counties were categorized as rural vs. urban based on the census definition. Ancillary services evaluated at ASCs included Cardiopulmonary Lab, EKG, Pharmacy, Clinical Lab, or Inhalation Therapy. Statistical analyses of the collected data were performed using t-test comparison and odds ratios. Statistical differences were considered significant with a p-value < 0.05.
Results: The average number of operating rooms per ASC in rural (2) and urban (2) counties was the same, p = 0.25. The total number of ASCs in urban counties is 7.6 and in rural counties it is 1.6, p < 0.00001. The average patient population served per ASC in rural (56,980) and urban counties (38,038) was not significantly different, p = 0.11068. The total number of operations performed were higher at urban compared with rural ASCs (3,572 vs 3,236, respectively), p = 0.034. When comparing services at ASCs between rural vs. urban counties, patient’s receiving care in an urban ASC are ~27x more likely to have at least one of the ancillary services.
Conclusion: Patients living in rural Pennsylvania counties receiving care at an ASC are less likely to be treated in a facility with one or more ancillary services.