The Need for a Better-Quality Reporting System for Ambulatory and Outpatient Surgery — Surgical Quality Without Walls

Journal: JAMA Surgery (Jun. 2022)
Coauthors: Ava Ferguson Bryan and Thomas Tsai.
Assets: [ Published Version | GitHub ]

One of the most important consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care delivery in the U.S. is the acceleration of a long-building shift from inpatient to outpatient delivery of operative care. Before the pandemic, enhanced recovery pathways and minimally invasive techniques opened the possibility of performing increasingly complex operations in hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers. To create inpatient surge capacity during the pandemic, emergency waivers expanded the care that outpatient surgical centers could provide, rendering them increasingly important sites of care delivery for both the present need for inpatient capacity as well as the future of value-based care. In this article, we analyze this shifting trend and provide policy recommendations for federal health agencies.