I am excited to highlight new innovations at Kelsey-Seybold that are taking surgeries out of the hospital setting into our state-of-the-art outpatient surgery centers, as well as surgeries we can now do as in-office procedures under local anesthesia.

KelseyCare members and employers offering the KelseyCare plan to their employees are benefiting from a surgery that can take place in a safer environment that also supports faster recovery for the patient, to significant cost savings – as much as 50% of costs can be reduced by moving a surgery from the hospital to an Ambulatory Surgery Center setting. The model of care at Kelsey-Seybold focuses on practicing evidence-based medicine and care delivery in the right setting for the patient. This could be at one of our affiliate-hospital partners, or Kelsey-Seybold’s Ambulatory Surgery Centers, or even in-office where you see your Kelsey-Seybold doctor. This results in cost-effective care with convenient and superior results for KelseyCare members.

I especially want to highlight the incredible work our surgeons and Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) team are doing. This outpatient setting controls costs for KelseyCare employers and delivers exceptional results and overall experience to members – with 95%+ patient satisfaction ratings. Many common surgeries, such as joint replacement, gallbladder, and partial or total hysterectomy are now being done in our ASCs. KelseyCare members generally pay less out of pocket and have a much lower copay for outpatient surgery when compared to a hospital surgery or procedure.

Similarly, in-office procedures reduce risks, and our patient avoids multi-day hospital stays, so recovery times are significantly reduced. In fact, many KelseyCare members only pay specialist copay for in-office surgery, the same as they would for a visit that did not include surgery.

Not long ago, these surgeries required hospitalization and overnight stays of one to two days. But now, there’s a big potential for improving overall outcomes and reducing costs by moving these procedures to an outpatient surgical setting. The outcome is a shorter recovery time, generally safer for the patient, and overall, a better experience for the patient and their family. Kelsey-Seybold surgeons perform up to 16,000 of these surgeries yearly at our accredited Ambulatory Surgery Centers across the Greater Houston area.

The Kelsey-Seybold ASC footprint is already growing. KelseyCare members already have access to three Kelsey Ambulatory Surgery Centers, and by the end of 2024, two more will open, with plans to have eight Ambulatory Surgery Centers by 2026 as part of our ongoing expansion.

Providing efficient and convenient patient care is an important part of our Accountable Care delivery model. We’re delivering better health care at a more affordable price by focusing on “site of care”, which means the right care for the patient, at the right time, and in the right setting.

Donnie Aga, M.D.  
Chief Medical Officer