The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on health care safety and quality, today released a report summarizing trends on the safety and quality of care for same-day surgical services nationwide: Same-Day Surgery in the U.S.: Findings of Two Inaugural Leapfrog Surveys. The report is a first and notable expansion in the organization’s data gathering and reporting enterprise, which for nearly 20 years has brought the public transparent information on inpatient care. In this inaugural effort, Leapfrog gathered data on several important areas of outpatient care including basic facility information; medical, surgical and clinical staff; volume and safety procedures; patient safety practices; and patient experience.

Key findings include:

• There are gaps in the education, training and national certifications of clinicians in both ASCs and HOPDs
• ASC and HOPD patients may experience challenges with communication before and after procedures
• ASCs lag behind HOPD counterparts in implementing best practices for patient safety
• Patients tend to give higher patient experience ratings to ASCs, but not enough ASCs monitor it

To view the full report, visit Leapfrog’s website.