Ambulatory surgical procedures refer to the surgical processes were patients undergo surgery Taylor Rapp Womens Jersey , recover and then are discharged to go home on the same day. The medical facilities that specialize in offering ambulatory surgical procedures, as well as nonsurgical procedures that do not entail of emergency care, are referred to as ambulatory surgery centers. Ambulatory surgery centers comprise of both hospital units and freestanding facilities. The free-standing facilities offer acute care to walk-in patients without the custodial feel of traditional hospital care. In the recent past, there has been significantly shifting of outpatient surgery from hospital settings to ambulatory surgery centers. This trend in healthcare can be demonstrated by the increase in the number of outpatient surgeries 鈥?both hospital outpatients or in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) 鈥?in the US from 3.7 million in 1981 to approximately 32.0 million in 2005 (Munnich & Parente, 2014). Today, around 65 percent of all the surgical procedures are done on an ambulatory basis with equal efficiency and care as the inpatient setting. Several factors get attributed to this increased shift from the inpatient setting to the ambulatory surgery centers. First Cory Littleton Womens Jersey , the significant advances and developments in medical and technological areas have contributed to these changes in healthcare (Hall, Schwartzman, Zhang & Liu, 2017). The improvements in anesthesia and analgesics for the relief of pain have enabled patients to safely and quickly return to normal functioning within hours of surgery; hence led to most people preferring the ambulatory surgery facilities. Besides, the development as well as the expansion of minimally invasive and noninvasive procedures that include laser surgery, endoscopy and laparoscopy has increased the possibility of delivery of quality safe care in ambulatory surgery centers. These surgical procedures have made it possible for patients to be discharged the same day after surgery Robert Woods Womens Jersey , unlike the past times where they had to be admitted to the hospital to recover. Second, the increasing healthcare costs in the early 1980s in the US resulted in various changes in the Medicare program that consequently encouraged the shift to ambulatory surgery. During this period, Medicare program expanded to comprise of surgery done in ambulatory surgery centers both hospital-based and freestanding. As a result of the Medicare support for ambulatory surgery procedures, the number of Medicare-covered procedures increased from 1,200 in 1991 to around 2,200 in 1998. Third Jared Goff Womens Jersey , the ability of ambulatory surgery centers to offer cheap, faster services for low-risk procedures as well as at more convenient locations for patients and physicians has also contributed to the shift from outpatient departments. Ambulatory surgery centers are more advantageous as compared to hospitals as they focus on offering outpatient surgery exclusively, which enables them to provide higher quality care at a subsidized cost as compared to the hospitals that provide a broad range of healthcare services. The cheaper cost of surgery on an ambulatory basis is a crucial factor in making patients to prefer the system to the hospital setting. The ambulatory surgery centers are estimated to be approximately 25-75 percent cheaper as compared to hospital settings because of a reduced need for ancillary services, less preoperative testing, a minimized demand for postoperative medications as well as a more efficient use of operating rooms and equipment. The shift of most patients from the inpatient setting to the ambulatory surgery centers has had a significant impact on different healthcare stakeholders that include providers, insurance firms Cooper Kupp Womens Jersey , hospitals, and consumers. One of the effects of ambulatory surgery is that it leads to decreased disruption to the personal life of a patient and those of friends and family; and also that they resume their daily activities in a shorter period. The ambulatory surgery also allows patients to recover at home in a familiar environment; therefore offering the additional psychosocial advantage. Similarly, studies had shown that children get well suited for ambulatory surgery because those who get treated on the same-day basis experience less psychological disturbance compared to those who are admitted in a day before surgery and released a day after surgery. Second, is that among patients who undergo surgical procedures, this shift has reduced the risk of nosocomial complications including deep venous thrombosis, wound infections Gerald Everett Womens Jersey , pneumonia, ileus, and pulmonary embolism. Third, ambulatory surgery procedures are associated with increased physician and patient satisfaction. The physician does not need to contend with the complications of operating room scheduling and the staff and equipment available in the hospital setting for use in surgery, whereas the patient finds the ambulatory surgery centers to be more user-friendly, less sophisticated as well as responsive to their as compared to hospitals (Dhooper Todd Gurley II Womens Jersey , 2011). Also, when operating in ambulatory surgery centers, physicians gain more control over their surgical practices as they can schedule surgical procedures more conveniently, assemble a competent healthcare team, and also ensure that the equipment and supplies used to suit their techniques and design facilities suit their specialties and the individual needs of the patient. Lastly, for insurance companies Aaron Donald Womens Jersey , the ambulatory surgery centers save them money because they are less expensive. However, the increased number of ambulatory procedures in the recent past has led to reduced savings for the insurance companies. 鈥?br > References Dhooper, S. S. (2011). Social Work in Health Care: Its Past and Future (Vol. 33). Sage. Hall, M. J., Schwartzman, A. Eric Dickerson Womens Jersey , Zhang, J., & Liu, X. (2017). Ambulatory surgery data from hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers: United States, 201