Surgery centers are increasingly popular alternatives to hospitals; they come with some unappealing tradeoffs, however.

The concept of surgical centers started almost fifty years ago as doctors, and patients, realized that a hospital visit was excessive for many minor procedures. The idea caught on and flourished. The types of procedures performed expanded, and their complexity increased. I myself had an ACL autograft reconstruction done at a surgical center in Seattle. 

A recent survey by a hospital rating nonprofit Leapfrog found deficiencies not only in the staffing, but in the reporting requirements of outpatient surgical centers. These facilities are attractive options for many patients undergoing routine or minor surgeries: they are less expensive and patients get to go home the same day. Their appeal is often what increases the level of risk to patients, however. 

Each facility is regulated by their states. And the states have varying levels of requirements, including reporting requirements. Reporters for USA Today noted that seventeen states do not require facilities to report deaths. And the reporting requirements to Medicare are substantially lower than those for hospitals. The authors of the article also noted many of the facilities around the country lacked in critical supplies and/or personnel to rely on in case of emergencies. These deficient facilities were not the standard, but were alarmingly frequent.

What does this mean for you and I? Disparate reporting requirements results in a lack of information for patients making care choices. Many of the deficiencies the authors noted, however, are not things a typical patient would ask about. Keep in mind that the risk index rises with the complexity of the case. But where patient knowledge falls short, it is up to our state licensing agencies to closely monitor these places for patient safety.

Read more here: Patient safety report: Same-day surgery center doctors not all not board certified