The rise in popularity of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in recent years is one of the major success stories of the American healthcare industry. Thirty years ago, the vast majority of medical procedures were performed inside hospitals. Today, “outpatient” procedures are more or less the norm. ASCs – which are sometimes called surgicenters – have become the predominant model through which healthcare is delivered. For medical procedures that do not require an overnight hospital stay, ASCs as well as hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) represent a more efficient, cost-effective method for delivering care.

The impetus behind the growth of ASCs was the recognition by doctors that hospital settings were impeding their ability to provide the best care possible to their patients. Due to factors such as limited operating room availability, aging equipment, and byzantine scheduling procedures, doctors were finding themselves spending less time on actual patient care and more time navigating the hospital bureaucracy. In their minds, there had to be a better way. The first ambulatory surgery center in America opened in 1970 and the rest, as they say, is history. Outpatient surgical procedures now outnumber inpatient procedures by a factor of two to one.

It is important to bear in mind that ambulatory surgery centers do not function as a substitute for hospitals; they are not intended to. ASCs treat patients who have already consulted with a primary healthcare provider and chosen surgery as the appropriate course of action. They are not health clinics, urgent care centers, or doctors’ offices. The focus of ambulatory surgery centers is on providing same-day surgical care, as well as select corollary services such as pain management and diagnostic screenings. Essentially, ambulatory surgery centers occupy the middle ground of the American health care ecosystem. The procedures that they conduct are more advanced than what you would find in a typical doctor’s office, but not so intensive as to necessitate an overnight or prolonged stay in a hospital. You can begin to see how, through specialization, ambulatory surgery centers are able to keep costs down and devote more of their energies to providing high-quality patient care.

There is no denying that ambulatory surgery centers remove many of the inefficiencies associated with traditional, brick-and-mortar hospitals. One example is the way in which ASCs have saved billions of dollars of Medicare expenditures over the course of the last 30-odd years. According to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, Medicare – which is the taxpayer-funded health insurance program for Americans 65 and old and younger people with disabilities – saves approximately $2.5 billion every year when same-day surgical procedures are performed at ambulatory surgery centers as opposed to hospitals. Those who rely on Medicare can have 3,500 different procedures performed at ASCs, at least those that have chosen to accept Medicare reimbursements and meet the program’s certification criteria.

High levels of patient satisfaction with the services provided by ASCs are indicative of how well this model of medical care delivery is working. A study conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed that a whopping 98 percent of Medicare patients who had visited an ambulatory surgery center for a procedure were satisfied with their experience. Other studies have shown time and again that ambulatory surgery centers are capable of providing care at a level equal to or better than the care provided by hospitals. It is often said that patient satisfaction is a hallmark of the ASC industry. Plus, at time a when hospital consolidation is all the rage, most ambulatory surgery centers are small, community-based businesses with rarely more than 20 employees.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to outpatient surgeries.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to outpatient surgeries. http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7LZp/laser-spine-institute-out-patient-surgeries

Author Bio: Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to outpatient surgeries.

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