Hybrid care is the blending of hospital and ambulatory care to optimize patient outcomes, decrease the cost of healthcare, and improve access to care. In practice, this means hospitals offer services from one location, which streamlines processes and makes services more convenient for patients. In hospital-based surgery centers, surgeons perform surgeries in a hybrid operating room within the hospital. This model has several benefits for both patients and hospitals. For example: It’s cheaper to build hybrid operating rooms than new standalone surgical facilities, it frees up expensive operating room time in a hospital setting instead of a facility that isn’t being used at another time of day, and it increases the capacity of surgical services while decreasing costs. With this blog post, you will learn about the benefits of hybrid office-based surgery centers – including scope of practice regulations, patient experience, efficiency of operations, and financial impact.
Scope of Practice Regulations
To earn the designation of office-based surgery center, a practice or facility must pass inspection by the Joint Commission (JC) or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In order to pass, a practice must meet certain requirements, including the level of certification of the facility and staff. In terms of the facility, a hybrid office has the same standards as a standalone surgical center. This means it must have the same equipment and meet the same infection control guidelines. Staff members must also meet the same certification requirements as those in standalone SSCs. This includes medical staff, infection control, anesthesia, and surgical team members.
Patient Experience-office-based surgery centers
The patient experience is also different in a hybrid office care setting. Patients have the same level of access to surgeries as they would at a standalone facility. This means they can make same-day appointments, and not have to stay in the hospital overnight. Bottom line, a patient shouldn’t notice any difference in the care they receive. This is because the staff has the same training, equipment, and certifications as they would at a standalone surgical center. There’s another benefit to patients of the hybrid model. Surgery centers often have a lower cost than an in-hospital setting. One thing to note, however, is that some practices may have longer wait times for certain surgeries. This is because the surgeons are coming from an in-hospital setting.
Efficiency of Operations
At the macro level, a hybrid surgery center reduces the cost of healthcare. This is because surgical facilities are highly expensive to build. And there’s an additional cost to staff and maintain them. A hybrid surgical center, by contrast, is less expensive to build. And it uses existing hospital resources to reduce the cost of operating the surgical center. Additionally, a hybrid surgical center increases the capacity of surgical services while decreasing costs. This is because it has the advantage of being located inside the hospital. This means it can be used during times when a standalone surgical center isn’t in use. As noted, this also means that a surgeon performing a surgery in a hybrid center will be a hospital employee. This gives the hospital more control over scheduling procedures and operations.
Financial Impact
On the financial side of things, a hybrid surgical center may offer more advantages than a standalone facility. This is because it can use hospital resources, such as the laboratory, pharmacy, imaging equipment, and diagnostic tests. This reduces the cost of running a standalone facility. This is especially true for surgical procedures that require advanced diagnostic testing. For example, hybrid facilities are able to use MRI scans for breast biopsies. This is because the MRI machine is already in the hospital. There’s another financial impact of the hybrid model. Hospitals can charge more for certain procedures. This is because they see patients on an in-network basis. While standalone facilities make patients responsible for their bills, hybrid surgeries are covered by insurance.
Conclusion
Office-based surgery centers are facilities that blend the best of in-hospital and ambulatory surgical center care. The hybrid model has several benefits: It’s cheaper to build hybrid operating rooms than new standalone surgical facilities, it frees up expensive operating room time in a hospital setting, it increases the capacity of surgical services while decreasing costs, and it improves the experience for both patients and providers.