Language
Country/Area
No result found
The hidden safety behind outpatient surgery: Why is it more popular than inpatient surgery?
In today's healthcare environment, outpatient surgery is becoming increasingly popular among patients. This surgery is also called split-second surgery, day surgery, or same-day surgery, and allows the patient to return home the same day of surgery instead of staying overnight in the hospital. This range of surgical procedures is becoming increasingly popular due to their convenience and cost-effectiveness.
The main advantages of outpatient surgery include: surgery does not require hospitalization, can reduce the patient's medical expenses, and the recovery time after surgery is relatively short.
According to a US study, 65% of surgeries were performed on an outpatient basis in 2012, compared with 54% in 1992. This shows that more and more medical institutions are turning to outpatient surgery to meet the needs of patients.
However, although outpatient surgery has shown good safety in all aspects, some media still question its safety due to individual incidents (such as the death of famous comedian Joan Rivers during outpatient surgery in 2014). Therefore, attention and supervision of outpatient surgery are still necessary.
The rise of outpatient surgery centersAn ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is a medical facility that specializes in performing surgeries that do not require hospitalization. The surgeries are usually simpler than those that require hospitalization and are designed to provide a convenient and comfortable surgical experience. According to data, as of 2011, there were more than 5,300 ASCs in the United States, performing more than 23 million surgeries each year. Many surgeries that were performed as inpatient surgeries in the 1980s and 1990s, such as knee, shoulder, and eye surgeries, have gradually moved to ASCs.
For many patients, outpatient surgery offers a convenient and effective option, allowing them to return to their daily activities shortly after surgery.
Scope of surgical procedures
According to statistics from 2016, the three most common surgeries covered by Medicare in outpatient surgery centers in the United States are cataract surgery, upper gastrointestinal endoscopic biopsy, and colonoscopy biopsy.
About Certification and Security
The growth of outpatient surgery has led to the creation of accrediting agencies that set strict standards for medical care, record keeping, and auditing processes for surgical centers. Since 1996, California has been the first state to require accreditation for all ambulatory surgery centers that perform anesthesia to ensure patient safety.
The work of accrediting bodies not only helps improve medical standards, but also provides patients with transparent information to help them make informed choices.
Of all U.S. ambulatory surgery centers, nearly 68% of management companies reported owning an equity stake in all of the independent entities they manage, with California leading the way in the number of ambulatory surgery centers, followed closely by Florida and Texas. Subsequently, these regions show the importance and demand for outpatient surgery.
Challenges of Outpatient Surgery
Although outpatient surgery is relatively safe, it still presents challenges in terms of the availability of emergency services. Most ASCs do not provide emergency services, which can pose risks in unexpected situations. Therefore, ASCs must develop detailed plans to ensure that patients can be quickly transferred to hospital for treatment when necessary.
The future of outpatient surgery
With the advancement of medical technology, the outpatient surgery market will continue to grow in the future. Taking both efficiency and safety into consideration, more and more medical institutions will invest in ASC and develop new surgical techniques to increase patient choice and satisfaction.
All these changes will undoubtedly affect patients' choices when undergoing surgery and further change the medical environment. In this context, we can't help but ask: Is the safety hidden behind outpatient surgery enough to reassure people and make them choose this emerging surgical method?
