By now, you’ve likely heard about Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC), but you might be a bit confused on the differences between services provided by an ASC and a regular hospital. For starters, hospitals provide a wide range of care, from everyday checkups to intensive surgeries. Hospitals are also capable of housing patients who require long-term care while they convalesce from cancer treatment or surgeries.

However, although hospitals are capable of providing a wide range of services, depending on what procedure you need done, the care a hospital can provide might not be necessary.

SEE ALSO: The ASC Advantage: Successful Outcomes and Infection Rates

Ambulatory Surgical Centers are a viable and economical option for people who need to have particular procedures done but don’t need the full range of services a hospital provides. ASCs are outpatient surgery centers, meaning they provide care for patients who do not require a hospital stay after their procedure. Inpatient surgery is care provided by a hospital that includes an overnight stay, whether it’s necessary or not. Whereas surgery patients at hospitals stay for one night or more, patients who choose ASCs are able to return home the same day as their procedure, because the care they need does not require a longer stay. Hospitals are, of course, the only reasonable option when it comes to extreme, intensive care, such as major surgeries. But ASCs are fully equipped and capable of caring for patients who require less intensive procedures, such as hernia repair, gall bladder removal, Achilles tendon repair and much more. Furthermore, ASCs are staffed by the same highly qualified physicians you find at a hospital.

Iowa City Ambulatory Surgical Center, for example, has dozens of anesthesiologists, surgeons, ophthalmologists, orthopedic physicians and more. The level of care provided at ASCs is the same as at a hospital, the only difference being the amount of services provided; however, the amount of procedures offered at ASCs is broad and growing. Iowa City ASC performs approximately 7,000 procedures per year, offering patients the care they need while helping them get home sooner and save money.

In our next blog post, we’ll tell you about the dollars and cents you can save by opting to have a procedure done at an ASC. If you are in need of a surgery, it’s worth your time and money to look into having it done at an ASC, such as Iowa City Ambulatory Surgical Center!