ACCESS GPO signs multiyear cardiac electrophysiology agreement with Johnson & Johnson for ambulatory surgery centers

ACCESS, through its physician-led group purchasing organization, ACCESS GPO, has entered a multiyear preferred portfolio agreement with Johnson & Johnson to support the adoption of advanced cardiac electrophysiology technologies in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) nationwide, the organizations announced.

The agreement covers an integrated portfolio of three-dimensional mapping, intracardiac imaging, radiofrequency ablation and pulsed field ablation technologies. It is intended to help ASCs expand access to advanced therapies for treating cardiac arrhythmias while supporting the continued shift of cardiac electrophysiology care into the outpatient setting.

Demand for catheter ablation continues to grow nationally, and ASCs are expected to play a larger role in expanding procedural capacity, improving patient access and delivering care in a cost-effective setting, according to the announcement. The agreement broadens the technology options available to ACCESS-affiliated centers and is meant to support development of high-quality electrophysiology programs in appropriately equipped outpatient facilities.

"Cardiac electrophysiology is undergoing a period of remarkable innovation, and it is important that patients treated in ambulatory surgery centers have access to the same advanced technologies available in traditional hospital settings," said Vivek Reddy, MD, director of cardiac arrhythmia services at The Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. "This collaboration helps ensure that physicians performing ablations in ASCs can continue to offer cutting-edge therapies while maintaining the flexibility, efficiency, and patient-centered focus that have made the ASC model so successful."

Arash Aryana, MD, PhD, medical director of cardiovascular services at Mercy Medical Group of Sacramento, California, said the agreement is designed to widen treatment options for patients while backing the growth of high-quality electrophysiology programs outside the hospital setting.

Vijay Swarup, MD, executive director of Arizona Heart Rhythm Center in Phoenix, called the shift of appropriately selected electrophysiology procedures into ASCs one of the most significant developments in cardiovascular care today. He said the agreement gives ACCESS-affiliated centers a more efficient pathway to evaluate, acquire and implement advanced technologies while building the clinical and operational infrastructure needed for sustainable outpatient programs.

ACCESS GPO was established to support physician-led ASCs by improving access to advanced technologies, strengthening procedural economics and fostering collaboration among cardiac electrophysiology programs nationwide. Through partnerships with industry manufacturers, the organization says it aims to accelerate growth of cardiovascular and electrophysiology services in ASCs while preserving physician leadership and clinical oversight. ACCESS is a physician-led management services organization with particular expertise in cardiovascular and cardiac electrophysiology programs; through ACCESS GPO and its industry relationships, it says it helps member centers improve purchasing efficiency and access the resources needed to build outpatient programs.

The agreement lands amid a broader surge in ambulatory surgery center growth across U.S. health care, driven in part by lower procedural costs relative to hospitals and continued physician interest in ownership models. Electrophysiology has become one of the more closely watched specialties in that shift, as case volumes for atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias climb and outpatient facilities look to match the technology available in hospital labs.

The move also comes as device makers race to expand dual-energy ablation options for physicians. Johnson & Johnson recently gained FDA approval for a dual energy catheter that combines radiofrequency and pulsed field ablation within its Carto mapping ecosystem, giving electrophysiologists the option to choose energy type based on a patient's anatomy rather than switching catheters mid-procedure. That kind of flexibility is increasingly seen as a selling point for ASCs looking to offer a full range of ablation approaches without the capital and staffing complexity of a hospital electrophysiology lab. As pulsed field ablation continues to gain share alongside traditional radiofrequency and cryoablation techniques, agreements like the one between ACCESS GPO and Johnson & Johnson are likely to become more common as GPOs and device manufacturers look to streamline how physician-led outpatient centers acquire and adopt emerging cardiac technology.