Once the stepchild of hospitals for elective surgery, today’s Ambulatory Surgery Centers are quickly taking over the market. Every year, millions of patients opt to have a wide range of surgical procedures done at specialized ASCs rather than having surgery at a hospital. In response to the preferences of patients, more surgeons are performing operations at ASCs. They are also performing increasingly complicated procedures at ASCs. What caused the change in perception? It can be traced to three reasons that resonate with patients, particularly in today’s health care atmosphere. 

As your ASC resumes surgeries, patients and staff members alike will likely have many questions about infection prevention and new safety measures. And to increase your culture of safety, reassuring and communicating with your employees and patients is crucial. 

All ASCs strive for top-notch quality and safety. But what if your employees don’t have the perception that you are trying to improve safety? Increasing safety culture starts by acknowledging the barriers and challenges. 

COVID-19 has changed how all businesses operate, and none are affected more than healthcare. As ASCs receive approval to reopen, how has the virus changed your culture of safety? 

As ASCs prepare to re-open post-COVID-19, infection control is first and foremost on everyone’s mind. What protocols does your ASC have in place to make infection prevention a priority?

In some regions, the COVID-19 curve is successfully flattening, and we are getting closer and closer to restarting elective surgeries. Already, administrators should be evaluating the backlog of missed operations and re-prioritizing how to proceed when they get the sign-off to re-open. How has COVID-19 changed the landscape of outpatient surgery?

One Medical Passport (1MP) and the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) have teamed up to make a Culture of Safety Survey available to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The survey will help ASCs measure current safety practices, identify trends and implement best practices for establishing and maintaining a culture of safety in their facility.

Nurses are integral to the culture of safety in every ASC across the country. This post explores four strategies that can place safety at the forefront of your ASC’s patient care culture.