HSTpathways COO Tara Vail: Patients don't know ASCs are an option — Here's why

Consumers generally don't know about ASCs as an option due to a lack of convenient reporting structures and variance in measures reported across care settings, HSTpathways COO Tara Vail writes in an article on Healthcare Analytics News.

Here are four takeaways:

1. Consumers don't have access to any easy-to-understand comparison of ASCs, hospitals and hospital outpatient departments.

2. Consumers are forced to consult multiple sources because of wide variance in measures reported.

3. Although the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association and ASC state organizations collect and publicize quality data, consumers are unfamiliar with ASCs and don't know where to look for data on them.

4. Leapfrog's decision to expand its hospital ratings to the ASC setting will help increase consumer awareness and enable them to make informed decisions about where to seek care.

"That transparency will help overcome some of the negative attention that demonizes the ASC setting without a fair and balanced comparison to the large number of unpublicized hospital incidents and infections that unfortunately occur daily," Ms. Vail said.

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