Arnold Seto explains ASC and OBL use for procedural expansion

Ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and office-based labs (OBLs) are poised to play a growing role in cardiovascular care as payment policies shift and health systems look for more efficient ways to manage procedural volume. That trend, and the guardrails needed to ensure patient safety, was the focus of an educational session at TCT 2025 in San Francisco. 

Cardiovascular Business spoke with one of the presenters, Arnold Seto, MD, cath lab director at the Long Beach VA Medical Center, professor of medicine at Charles Drew University, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) treasurer and chair of the SCAI Advocacy Committee, to find out more.

Seto said there is wide expectation that lower-acuity interventional cardiology and peripheral procedures will migrate into the ASC environment. This is partly due to better cost effectiveness and the fact that larger centers want to expand into more complex and structural heart procedures without building out their hospital cath labs to be bigger.