Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center Participates in Third Annual National ASC Open House Day, Offers Free Health Screenings and Patient Education

BETHESDA, Md. -- Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center today invited community members to take an inside look at a growing healthcare trend gaining in popularity among quality- and cost-conscious healthcare consumers. The event was part of the third annual National ASC Open House Day where Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center offered free healthcare screenings and patient education programs and sponsored by the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association (FASA).

Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center is one of the 347 ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in Maryland and offers a variety of outpatient surgical procedures including orthopedic, urological, podiatry and pain management.

"Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center is a community-based healthcare provider that offers safe, efficient and patient-centered care," said Randy Gross, the center's executive director.  "Our center is part of a national trend that is offering healthcare consumers an important and patient-friendly alternative to hospitals. National ASC Day gives us a chance to raise consumer awareness and demonstrate our role in meeting Maryland's healthcare needs."

Today, ASCs nationwide are participating in the third annual National ASC Open House Day, with a theme of "Here When You Need Us."  Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center offered free health screenings, in-depth and interactive patient education sessions ranging from pain management in cancer patients to diabetic foot care with two renowned medical experts and a guided facility tour.

Bethesda resident Jerry Pfeffer, another Massachusetts Ave. Surgery Center patient, said that he "chose to have his surgery at the center because of its convenient location, informal, relaxed atmosphere, and its state-of-the-art surgical facilities."  He also noted that "the center is able to provide a level of privacy and personal attention that can be difficult to obtain in most conventional hospital settings."

"Patients need to know that they have options for outpatient surgery," says John F. Dombrowski, MD, a nationally-recognized pain management expert who practices at Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center. "ASCs are conveniently located in neighborhoods across the country.  More importantly, they are safe, efficient and designed by the people who best understand how to deliver quality surgical care -- doctors."

Over the past three decades, ASCs have played a leading role in transforming what it means to have surgery in America.  More than 80 percent of all surgeries are now outpatient and 1 out of every 5 of these is performed in an ASC. Nearly 12 million procedures will take place in one of the 4,300 ASCs nationwide this year.

Michael H. Theodoulou, DPM, a renowned podiatric surgeon who also practices at the ASC, says that the open house will "help educate healthcare consumers so they can make more informed decisions before they need surgery."  Adding that ASCs are stepping up to meet America's surgical needs by ensuring that patients have the access to services they need, when they need them and at a cost they can afford.

Consumers and doctors say that safe and high-quality services, ease of scheduling, greater personal attention and affordability are among the main reasons for the growing popularity of ASCs, like Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center. ASCs are facilities where surgeries are performed that do not require hospital admission and where recovery time is less than 24 hours, such as knee surgery, cataract surgery, laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures. Patients arrive on the day of the procedure, have the surgery in a fully equipped operating room and recover under the care of the nursing staff – all without hospital admission.

For Medicare patients, the savings can be significant. Earlier this year, a study found that Medicare pays significantly more for procedures performed in a hospital outpatient department (HOPD) than it pays for the same procedures in an ASC. Looking at 2003 Medicare HOPD claims for procedures on Medicare's ASC list and adjusting for 2005 rules and rates, the study found that claims cost Medicare an average of $320 less per claim in an ASC compared to an HOPD.

"Today, hundreds of community members will get to know their local ASCs better," said Kathy Bryant, executive vice president of FASA. "Should the day come when a surgical procedure is needed, they will know that ASCs are there for them to provide high-quality, patient-focused and affordable care."

Source: FASA