Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Basics of Blocks - April 2014 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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Page 10 Dan O'Connor EDITOR'S PAGE The Father of Ambulatory Surgery Paying tribute to Dr. Wally Reed, outpatient surgery's true pioneer. We should all kneel down this moment and thank God for anesthesiologist Wallace "Wally" Reed, MD. You're where you are and doing what you're doing because Dr. Reed had the courage and conviction to open the nation's first freestanding ambulatory surgery center. In 1970, at a time when many ambulatory surgery procedures were performed in hospital emergency rooms and followed by overnight hospital stays, Dr. Reed knew there had to be a better way to make same- day surgery more affordable and accessible for patients and the physicians who serve them. What if, he wondered, we built a focused factory for surgery? It would be like dry cleaning: Drop off patients at 9, and pick them up at noon. Two years before he opened, he doodled a sketch of the prototypical surgical center on the back of a cocktail napkin. There would be 4 ORs, with separate admitting, recovery and waiting rooms. He also plotted the new business model of ambulatory surgical care. We'll put the docs in charge. They'll hire their own staffs, buy their own equipment and schedule their own cases. Make the whole place ultra-efficient. Give patients excellent surgical care in a comfortable, comforting environment uninterrupted by the need to provide emergency care. Despite many political challenges, Dr. Reed broke ground on his building. He named his ASC Surgicenter. On opening day, 5 physicians performed 5 procedures, 4 requiring general anesthesia. Each patient was same-day discharged. Yes, they said, patients and payors and physicians, this is better. Much, much better. The next day, the next week and the next month

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