Ambulatory surgery centers, also commonly referred to as ASCs, are healthcare facilities providing specialized ambulatory surgical services. Ambulatory Surgery Centers are also known as outpatient surgery centers or say-day surgery centers. Ambulatory Surgery Centers are held to the same standard as hospital outpatient surgery departments.

For the last decade in particular, ASCs have become the desired option for millions of people thanks to the fact that they act as a more convenient, cost effective alternative to hospital-based care.

Specialization & Quality

Thanks to their more intimate nature and more specific focus, ambulatory surgery centers are able to offer a wide range of different specialties depending on the facility you’re talking about. These include but are not limited to ones like:

• General Orthopaedics
• Foot and Ankle
• Sports Medicine
• Pain Management Services
• Minimally Invasive Neuro-Spine
• Orthopaedic Spine
• Urology
• Plastic Surgery
• General Surgery
• And Much More

None of this comes at the expense of the factor that matters most to so many people, however, which is quality. According to one recent study, ASCs aren’t just a more convenient option for procedures for a huge number of people – they may actually be safer, too. In 2010, approximately 4.84 out of every 1,000 patients who visited an ASC developed a surgical site infection (or SSI) that needed to be treated with inpatient care within 30 days after a procedure had taken place. During the same period of time, roughly 8.95 out of every 1,000 patients who had the same procedures done in a more traditional hospital environment had the same issues.

So not only are you receiving the same quality of care that you would from a hospital, procedures are getting done faster and in safer ways at the same time. This alone is often enough to convince most people that ambulatory surgery centers are the way to go.

Convenience

Another compelling argument to be made in favor of ambulatory surgery centers has to do with convenience – something that, by design, they were always intended to provide versus what more traditional hospital environments are capable of.

Thanks to the way that most ASCs are operated, physicians are in a better position to not only assemble more specific teams of highly qualified staff members, but can also guarantee the best equipment is available for each technique that is being offered. ASCs are often designed from the ground up to better fit the needs of their patients in a more intimate way, and as a result their physicians are also usually able to schedule procedures more conveniently, as well.

All of this means that in an ASC, physicians simply have more control over the atmosphere of their facility – and by association, the quality of care that they’re able to provide – versus those who work in a hospital. Remember that the first ASC was created all the way back in the 1970s to act as a higher quality, cost effective and more convenient alternative to traditional inpatient hospital care. As the last decade has gone a long way towards proving, those original founders of the concept have very much succeeded.

Cost Savings

For many, one of the most important benefits that an ambulatory surgery center brings with it is one of cost. Because ASCs receive far less of their total payments from sources like Medicare and Medicaid than your average hospital (61% for hospitals, versus just 37% from ASCs), they’re often seen as a far more cost effective solution for patients – particularly those who are having elective procedures done.

Why Choose Cornerstone Surgicare

Cornerstone Surgicare is a totally modern, state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center located right in the center of gorgeous Pensacola, Florida. It offers a contemporary style and a comfortable, professional atmosphere – making it an ideal choice for patients of all ages all over Escambia County, Florida and the surrounding areas.

Cornerstone Surgicare is operated by a team of compassionate physicians, all of whom specialize in bringing innovative care to people in the area on a daily basis. Cornerstone Surgicare is one of the only ASC in the Southeast to use the Mazor Renaissance Robot, for example, which itself represents a significant breakthrough in terms of minimally invasive spinal procedures.

Cornerstone Surgicare licensed by the State of Florida, certified by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services and is an AAAHC accredited facility, which means that it has proven that it meets or exceeds the standards dictated by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care in terms of performance, their consultation and education services and much more.

If you’d like to find out more information about some of the major benefits that you can only get from an ambulatory surgery center, or if you’d like to learn more about the many different procedures that are available, please don’t delay – contact Cornerstone Surgicare today.