subject: Surgery Center Versus Hospital: Which Is Preferred? [print this page] Patients obviously want to make sure they get the best treatment possible, but getting some additional benefits certainly can't hurt either. This means they will not only need to choose whom they should have for a nerve surgeon, but it also means weighing the differences between a neuropathy specialist practicing in a hospital versus one working from a surgery center. The trouble is which is the better choice?
Which One Is More Affordable?
Blue Cross Blue Shield recently compared the costs of various procedures done at a surgery center and at a hospital. In the study, they discovered that a procedure done at a surgery center costs 47% less than one performed at a full-service hospital.
This can be a significant savings when considering the full cost of a nerve surgeon. Also, while procedures performed by a neuropathy specialist are generally covered by health insurers, the lower cost improves the patient's chances of having everything covered under their insurance programs.
Which One Provides the Highest Quality Care?
The study performed by Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as several other studies, found that the care provided at a surgery center is equivalent to, or greater than, the care received at a hospital. But, when thinking about it, this only makes sense. After all, a surgery center specializes in one type of medicine, and therefore, the nerve surgeon's staff will have more experience performing the procedure.
This means the staff will have a greater ability to anticipate the patient's needs because they are aware of what he or she will experience, and this alone can go a long way to improve care. It's also important to note that while a procedure performed by a neuropathy specialist doesn't seem more dangerous than heart surgery, for example, there's still a possibility of something going wrong.
Who Has the Best Equipment and Training?
A hospital generally has a large amount of equipment in good working order and ready to go at a moment's notice. This could include equipment for almost any type of surgery, invasive tests, and general items used to treat any number of emergencies.
A surgical center run by an expert physician, on the other hand, only needs the equipment used for procedures which deal with a certain area of the body. This translates into less money spent purchasing and maintaining equipment that's useless to the patient. And the money saved here is put back into the practice making it easier for the center to have the latest in technology.
Choosing between a nerve surgeon's surgical center and a hospital offering a wide range of procedures involves a lot of careful thought about the various benefits, but it should never be a decision taken lightly. The main thing is that the neuropathy specialist is able to improve the patient's quality of life.
