New research published in the Journal of Arthroplasty found patients who had outpatient hip or knee arthroplasty surgery in an ASC had a higher level of satisfaction than patients who had undergone inpatient surgery.
Researchers gave portions of the Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers, the Friends and Family Test, as well as eight additional questions to 174 consecutive patients between Dec. 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. Sixty-four had outpatient surgery, and 102 had inpatient surgery. Inpatients surveyed were older and heavier than the outpatients.
Here are three study insights:
1. Those who had outpatient surgery reported more top responses when asked about the staff's assistance with pain management, medications, written health information, courtesy and respect from nurses than those who had inpatient surgery. The patients who underwent outpatient surgery also reported top responses on overall experience and satisfaction with the facility.
2. Inpatients reported more bottom responses when asked about how they were prepared for discharge, but also reported top responses with the overall experience and satisfaction with the facility. The outpatients said they felt more prepared for discharge than the inpatients.
3. "Although satisfaction was high in both groups, when differences were present they favored outpatient surgery in the ASC," researchers concluded. "Patients who had surgery at an ASC were more satisfied in the areas of nursing staff, pain management and preparedness for discharge. This suggests that lower extremity arthroplasty procedures can be performed with equivalent or better patient satisfaction when compared to a traditional inpatient hospital stay."
Click here to read the full study.