Researchers examined 500 hospitals to determine how many had ASCs on their campuses, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia.
The researchers studied randomly selected Medicare certified hospitals, with data on freestanding surgery centers collected from a review of the hospitals' websites and Google street view. The researchers measured linear distances to determine how far the ASCs were from the hospital's main building.
Here are the key research insights to know:
1. There were 124 hospitals that had an affiliated ASC within 10 miles of the hospital's campus. Out of the 124 facilities, 53 were freestanding.
2. Forty-two percent of freestanding centers were located within 250 yards of the hospital's main campus.
3. "The percentage of freestanding surgery centers located within 250 yards of main hospital buildings is sufficiently large to influence analyses. When using U.S. national data, ambulatory surgery reported as performed at a hospital should not be considered as having been performed within the hospital. Similarly, hospital affiliated freestanding surgery centers should not be assumed to be more than a five-minute walk for anesthesia and operating room personnel from the hospital," the researchers concluded.
Click here to read the full study.