Patient Satisfaction News

Ambulatory Service Centers Yield More Positive Patient Experiences

The Leapfrog Group’s Outpatient Surgical Care report showed that patient experience was all-around better in ambulatory service centers than in hospital outpatient departments

This report is the first in a three-part series from The Leapfrog Group examining patient experience in HOPDs and ASCs during the pandemic.

Source: Getty Images

By Sarai Rodriguez

- The Leapfrog Group published the first part of its Outpatient Surgical Care report, finding that ambulatory service centers (ASCs) generated more favorable patient experience scores compared to hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered healthcare delivery for patients; various challenges such as staffing shortages, care access delays, and high infection rates have impacted the care experience for all patients. It has never been more important to assess patient perspectives to ensure that the patient voice is accounted for, the Leapfrog group said.

By using Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery (OAS CAHPS) survey data, the nonprofit patient safety watchdog group measured the experience of patients undergoing same-day surgery in HOPDs or ASCs.