Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Definition
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are medical facilities that specialize in elective same-day or outpatient surgical procedures. They do not offer emergency care. The word ambulatory comes from the Latin verb ambulare, which means "to walk." It means that the patients treated in these surgical centers do not require admission to a hospital and are well enough to go home after the procedure. Ambulatory surgical centers are also known as surgicenters.
Demographics
As of 2003, there are about 3,700 ambulatory surgical centers in the United States, compared with 275 in 1980 and 1,450 in 1990. This rapid increase reflects a general trend toward surgeries performed on an outpatient basis. According to American Medical News, 70% of all surgical procedures performed in the...
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