April Aud, BSN, RN, administrator of Poplar Bluff, Mo.-based Black River Ambulatory Surgery Center, joined Becker's to discuss the procedures she thinks will move to the ASC setting.
Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for clarity and length.
Question: What procedures do you think will be approved for the outpatient setting next?
April Aud: I can honestly say that I never thought total joints would be performed in an ASC setting, but here we are doing total joints in the ASC setting. Cardiac procedures have long been talked about being performed in the ASC setting and some are already being performed. Cardiac procedures in the ASC setting are even more of a surprise to me than total joints. However, cardiac catheterizations are considered a same-day procedure in the hospital setting, as well as stent placements. I can see those being performed in ASCs that are decently close to a hospital who could take over care if there were complications.
With technology always evolving, there is no telling where in the ASC world we will be in the 5 to 10 years. I have sifted through all of the procedures that come to the forefront of my mind, and most of them are already performed in the ASC setting. We are limited based on the 23-hour rule that ASCs have to abide by and also the fact that we do not have an ICU setting to fall back on if complications arise, but that is a benefit of working in the ASC setting. You care for your patients and they go home, then you go home.