Jim Ballard, MD, and Chris Nanson, MD, two surgeons practicing at Beaverton-based Oregon Surgical Institute, an ASC specializing in total joint replacement, pain management and orthopedic surgery, shared their experience opening a new ASC with Regent Surgical Health.
Here are the insights they shared:
1. Dr. Ballard said one of the greatest challenges of performing total joint replacements in the ASC is "getting over the inertia of tradition."
"Everybody just accepts that total joints are a hospital-based procedure, because that’s what they’ve been told and experienced their whole careers," he said. “I visited some ASC surgeons in Ohio that were very, very good at it, and that helped me get over the fears that I had,”
2. Dr. Nanson said patient discomfort can be a challenge as well. “One of the biggest hurdles is you tell a patient they’re going to a surgery center, they’ll have a hip replaced and go home same day. They look at you like you’re crazy. It’s such a new thing,” he says. We try to present this option in a manner that highlights the benefits of the ambulatory setting and of the ability to recover at home in a comfortable environment, rather than in a hospital.”
3. Dr. Ballard said because he and Dr. Nanson run the ASC along with 13 other surgeon owners, the ASC environment is more communal and team-oriented than a hospital.
“Because it’s an environment we created, staff that we hand-picked, and the staff has this unique energy about them; everybody’s on the same page. That creates an energy that’s impossible to find in a hospital setting," he said. "Everybody that works [at OSI] knows they’re part of the team, they’re part of something bigger, so they’re willing to work hard and do whatever it takes. It’s such a positive environment, it’s infectious.”