Abstracts by keywords: ambulatory surgery
The development of new surgical procedures, advances in medical and anesthesia technology, and the establishment of integrative care structures make it possible to increasingly carry out surgical procedures on an outpatient basis. Compared to inpatient procedures, outpatient operations offer numerous advantages: savings in personnel and hospital costs, more patient-friendly treatment (e.g. due to lower psychological stress, especially in children and older patients), the possibility of more flexible scheduling and a lower risk of nosocomial infections (Castoro et al. 2007; Lemos et al. 2009; Shnaider & Chung 2006; Standl & Lussi 2012). The contract concluded between the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, the German Hospital Association and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in accordance with Section 115b Paragraph 1 SGB V “Outpatient surgery and ward-replacing procedures in the hospital” (AOP contract) enables insured persons to carry out selected operations on an outpatient basis. Despite this collective agreement option, the proportion of outpatient operations in Germany is around 37%, well behind countries such as the USA, Canada or Scandinavia, in which around 50-90% of all surgical procedures are already carried out on an outpatient basis (Toftgaard 2003). The reasons for the low proportion of outpatient operations could be that the remuneration is perceived as too low by the established service providers (clinically trained specialists) or a lack of billing options for these standard care operations.