Consider an ASC as a site-of-care option for low-risk patients

If a patient is in good health with no chronic conditions and has never had an adverse reaction to anesthesia, consider choosing an ambulatory surgical center for routine outpatient procedures instead of the hospital. Outpatient procedures that are increasingly done in ASCs include the following:

• Lens and cataract procedures
• Colonoscopy and biopsy
• Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy
• Hip and knee arthroplasty

How does this help you?
Choosing an ASC can give health care providers more control over surgical practices, more flexible scheduling and lower facility fees. Additionally, the list of covered surgical procedures at ASCs is growing each year. According to Becker’s ASC Review,** six coronary intervention procedures, including cardiac stenting, may be added to that list in 2020, as proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

What’s in it for patients?
With ASCs, patients benefit from more convenient locations, shorter wait times for scheduling procedures, a lower chance of post-operative infections and lower cost share than outpatient surgery in a hospital. All these factors contribute to higher overall patient satisfaction. Procedures typically take less time than those done at hospital outpatient departments, so patients are under anesthesia for a shorter period of time, leading to less complications.***

The decision to choose an ASC versus a hospital outpatient department for a patient lies with the provider, but if using an ASC is appropriate for the patient, choosing an ASC could be a win-win situation.

**Content provided by Becker’s Hospital Review. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this content.
***Content provided by Health Leaders Media. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this content.