subject: Get More Insight On Ambulatory Surgery Coding [print this page] When an outpatient receives medical treatment, then its called out-patient care or ambulatory care. Ambulatory basically means capable of walking"; and so the ambulatory care implies you are able to walk in and out of the hospital providing you the medical care.
Some of the hospitals offer out-patient care, but mostly the ambulatory care is done in doctors offices, clinics, and even a patients home. However, a lot of hospitals are going for ambulatory care compared to the same procedure performed as an in-patient at the hospital as it saves patients money and time.
ASCs are for any kind of surgery whether it is a simple procedure like blood transfusion or dental surgery or a complicated procedure like plastic surgery or removal of malignant tumors. Out-patient care is a feasible alternative to overnight stay in hospital.
ASC's are a great way out to reduce your medical costs by defining the amount of time spent in recovery. When ASCs are compared with the cost of same procedure performed at a local hospital, the average savings come out to be twenty to fifty percent. In an ASC you have the advantage of high grade medical supplies, surgical supplies, and well-trained doctors. ASC's are more practical for less invasive procedures.
In ASCs, coders have to review patients medical records to get the right selection of codes which indicates the reason for patients admission, severity of the disease, and the range of care received. Ambulatory coding, throws open many new challenges at regular intervals with situations that can confuse even the experienced coders.
