The number of procedures your ASC performs each day matters—even small inefficiencies can affect how smoothly your schedule runs. When budgets tighten, it's tempting to focus on the biggest numbers on the spreadsheet. For Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs), anesthesia systems can be overlooked, not because they’re insignificant, but because their impact shows up in incremental ways—workflow efficiency, reliability and equipment longevity over time. Viewed through an operational lens, anesthesia systems represent a potential area for improving efficiency and managing financial risk. As ASCs evolve to handle more complex procedures1, investments in and upgrades to anesthesia systems become an important operational consideration for sustaining and scaling care delivery.
Smaller inefficiencies can add up
Downtime, inefficient workflows and service demands can introduce disruption into daily ASC operations. These impacts rarely appear as a single event. Instead, they can emerge incrementally through factors such as excess anesthetic agent use, planned maintenance requirements, technician labor, variability in service needs and workflow interruptions that affect daily schedules—areas commonly addressed in discussions of anesthesia equipment planning, lifecycle management and service efficiency.2
Anesthesia labor costs are rising
Anesthesia labor costs have increased significantly in recent years, adding pressure to ASC operating budgets. At the 2024 OR Business Management Conference, which, for the first time, dedicated an entire track to ASCs, presenters noted that anesthesia labor costs have surged, with certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) hourly rates climbing from $100-125 to $175-200 since 2020.3
As labor costs rise, this can make inefficiencies in workflows and equipment-related variability even more consequential. Training demands, workflow complexity and the need for additional hands-on support can increase the time and effort required to sustain daily operations, contributing to avoidable labor expense over time.2
Sustaining and scaling ASC operations
As the demand for outpatient services increases5, ASCs will need a strategy for delivering outstanding patient care in a cost-efficient manner. GE HealthCare’s anesthesia technology can support this goal by helping ASCs manage costs and reduce variability over time.
When operations scale without careful planning, variability can increase. Differences in workflows, equipment capabilities and service requirements can introduce new sources of operational friction, making costs less predictable over time. As demand for outpatient care continues to grow, the goal is not expansion alone, but to scale in a way that preserves consistency and supports cost predictability.5
Anesthesia systems play a central role in this equation. Systems designed with scalability in mind—through standardized workflows, compatibility with existing infrastructure and predictable service requirements—can help ASCs support higher volumes and more complex cases without introducing additional operational burden.2
Lower costs, higher care
Planned maintenance efficiency and lifecycle predictability
Effective lifecycle planning plays an important role in controlling anesthesia system costs over time. When maintenance strategies, upgrade paths or infrastructure compatibility are not aligned with long-term operational needs, ASCs may face avoidable disruptions, service interventions or earlier-than-anticipated replacements. While these challenges are not always immediately visible, they can increase cost variability and reduce predictability across the equipment lifecycle.2
Research into planned maintenance total cost of ownership reinforces how meaningful differences in maintenance efficiency can be between anesthesia platforms. In a 12-year owner-reported study of anesthesia machines across multiple healthcare systems, GE HealthCare Carestation™ 600 Series anesthesia systems (Carestation 620 and 650) demonstrated consistently lower planned maintenance costs (defined in the study as scheduled preventative service and routine maintenance activities)—both in parts and labor hours—compared to other performance-tier anesthesia systems evaluated in the study.4 (“Performance-tier systems” refers to mid-tier anesthesia platforms from major manufacturers included in the independent analysis, representing comparable classes of anesthesia machines rather than other GE HealthCare portfolios.)
Conducted by MarketVision Research*, the study captured data directly from directors of biomedical engineering, clinical engineering, anesthesiology and purchasing, ensuring the findings reflected real-world ownership and service experiences. Lower planned maintenance requirements can help ASCs better anticipate service needs, reduce variability in maintenance-related costs and improve long-term cost predictability across the ownership lifecycle.4
Standardization, vendor relationships and lifecycle planning
As ASCs scale operations and manage care delivery across multiple sites, variability can become a source of unnecessary complexity and cost. Standardizing anesthesia platforms can simplify procurement, streamline service contracts and reduce training variability, helping clinical teams move between ORs with greater familiarity and consistency.2
Vendor relationships also play an important role in cost control. Working with vendors that offer reliable equipment and consistent after-sales support can help ASCs improve cost predictability and avoid the challenges associated with fragmented procurement and service arrangements.2 Scalable, upgradeable platforms—supported by thoughtful lifecycle planning—can further help ASCs manage long-term operating costs without introducing unnecessary disruption.
Looking beyond the capital purchase
ASCs already operate in cost-conscious environments while meeting rising demand for outpatient services. Maintaining this balance requires attention not only to upfront equipment costs, but also to how technology choices influence operating expenses over time.
Evaluating anesthesia systems through the lens of total cost of ownership—considering maintenance requirements, service predictability, standardization and lifecycle planning—can help ASCs better understand sources of inefficiency that affect cost predictability.2,4 Rather than serving as a source of financial risk, anesthesia technology selected with these considerations in mind is intended to support long-term operational efficiency and sustainability.
A practical path forward
For ASCs focused on controlling costs as operations evolve, anesthesia system design matters. Technologies that support efficiency, predictability and consistency can help improve OR throughput, limit variability and manage financial risk over the equipment lifecycle.
The GE HealthCare Carestation™ 600 Series provides a standardized anesthesia platform designed for ASC environments. Its consistent, user-friendly, modular design supports efficient daily workflows and reduces training demands. The system’s Compact Breathing System and rapid response ventilation controls are designed to enable fast gas wash-in and wash-out, helping clinicians move patients efficiently through induction and emergence so OR schedules can stay on track.8 Standardization across the platform can also help simplify procurement and service arrangements as volumes increase.
Together, these design considerations support an anesthesia technology approach centered on efficiency, predictability and long-term operational sustainability.
* This TCO study was commissioned and paid for by GE HealthCare. The findings, conclusions and testimonials in the report are solely the result of research conducted by MarketVision Research. GE HealthCare is not the author of this report.
References
- Joshi, G. P., and T. R. Vetter. 2024. "Ambulatory Anesthesia: Current State and Future Considerations." Anesthesia & Analgesia. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000007127
- Nandy, S., and R. Jha. 2025. "Medical Equipment Planning in Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Enhancing Efficiency, Innovation, and Patient Care." Cureus. https://www.cureus.com/articles/358286-medical-equipment-planning-in-ambulatory-surgery-centers-enhancing-efficiency-innovation-and-patient-care
- OR Manager. 2024. "Session: Riding the Wave - Considerations to Making Anesthesia Profitable in Today's Labor Market." OR Manager Briefs. OR Business Management Conference. https://www.ormanager.com/briefs/session-riding-the-wave-considerations-to-making-anesthesia-profitable-in-todays-labor-market/
- MarketVision Research. 2025. Planned Maintenance Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Study: 12-Year Owner-Reported Analysis of Anesthesia Systems. Commissioned by GE HealthCare.
- AMSURG. 2024. “Filling a Healthcare Need: How Ambulatory Surgery Centers Are Poised for Continued Growth.” AMSURG Blog. https://amsurg.com/blog/2024/07/25/filling-a-healthcare-need-how-ambulatory-surgery-centers-are-poised-for-continued-growth/
- GE HealthCare. Carestation™ 600 Series. Accessed 2025. https://www.gehealthcare.com/products/anesthesia-solutions/carestation-600-series
- GE HealthCare. Carestation™ 650 Anesthesia System. Accessed 2026. https://www.gehealthcare.com/products/anesthesia-solutions/carestation-600-series/carestation-650.
- GE HealthCare. Carestation™ 650: Sleek. Simple. Scalable. It’s All within Reach, 2015, reapproved November 2025.
