AmSurg | About AmSurg

Our practice-based ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are licensed outpatient surgery centers generally equipped and staffed for a single medical specialty and are typically located in or adjacent to a physician group practice.

The types of procedures performed at each center depend on the specialty of the practicing physicians. We have targeted ownership in centers that perform gastrointestinal endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopedics and otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) procedures.

We target these medical specialties because they generally involve a high volume of lower-risk procedures that can be performed in an outpatient setting on a safe and cost-effective basis. The procedures most commonly performed within each specialty are:

Gastroenterology - colonoscopy and other endoscopy procedures;

Ophthalmology - cataracts and retinal laser surgery;

Orthopedics - knee arthroscopy and carpal tunnel repair; and

Otolaryngology - myringotomy (ear tubes) and tonsillectomy.

The size of our typical ambulatory surgery center is approximately 3,000 to 4,500 square feet. Each center developed by us typically has two or three operating or procedure rooms with areas for reception, preparation, recovery and administration. Each surgery center is specifically tailored to meet the needs of its related physician practice and typically performs 3,000 to 6,000 procedures per year.

Our surgery centers have been designed with a cost structure that enables us to charge fees which we believe are generally less than those charged by hospitals and freestanding multispecialty outpatient surgery centers for similar services performed on an outpatient basis. Lower facility development costs, more efficient staffing and space utilization, and a specialized operating environment focused on cost containment contribute to our ability to offer a cost-effective alternative to other surgery settings.

Our centers are operated as a partnership between the physician partners and AmSurg. While our physician partners concentrate on providing quality patient care, AmSurg oversees the clinical services, business office, marketing, financial reporting, accreditation and administrative operations of the surgery centers. Each surgery center partnership is governed by an operating board, which is comprised of equal representation by AmSurg and our physician partners. We regularly conduct strategic planning sessions with our physician partners to identify new opportunities and prioritize goals for each individual center with the shared objective of achieving market dominance and operating excellence on the local level.

AmSurg surgery centers provide the highest quality patient care due to the outstanding clinical skills of our physician partners and the operations expertise of our healthcare management professionals. To ensure a focus on quality of patient care, AmSurg coordinates a Physician Advisory Committee whose members are drawn from our network of physician partnerships across the country. This group of physicians meets twice a year and advises AmSurg on important clinical issues as well as technological advances.

The strength of the AmSurg partnership in delivering quality patient care can be demonstrated by:
Studying clinical outcomes	Measuring patient satisfaction	Achieving accreditation

Clinical Outcomes: AmSurg is the single largest provider of colonoscopy services in the United States. This procedure is the preferred diagnostic tool for colon cancer screening. In a Department of Veterans Affairs study released in August of 2001, researchers proved the superiority of colonoscopy to other colon cancer screening tests including fecal occult blood tests and sigmoidoscopy. The rising interest in colon cancer screening compelled AmSurg to undertake a study of complications of colonoscopy, the most common of which is perforation of the colon. The national rate of perforation commonly reported in medical literature is between 0.1 and 0.3%, or 1 to 3 per 1000 procedures. The AmSurg rate of perforations in 116,000 colonoscopies performed in 1999 was .03% or 1 in 3,135 procedures. We believe this high level of performance sets a new quality standard for the industry.

Patient Feedback: Patient satisfaction surveys are conducted several times throughout the year. Patients at our surgery centers rate every aspect of their experience, from their interactions with surgery center physicians and staff to their assessment of the facility and equipment. In the most recent patient satisfaction survey, published in December 2005, the 104 participating AmSurg centers scored a 99.7% positive overall patient satisfaction rate. View sample survey questions and view latest survey results. After viewing the PDF, use the "Back" button on your browser to return to AmSurg.com.

Accreditation: Accreditation by peer-led organizations is another measure of the quality patient care provided in AmSurg surgery centers. The Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care conduct rigorous on-site inspections of surgery centers attempting to receive their accreditation. Nearly 2/3 of AmSurg centers have earned accreditation. Before implementing the current pass/fail system, JCAHO issued numeric scores to an organization after its survey. At that time, the average score for JCAHO outpatient accreditation surveys was 88, while AmSurg centers undergoing JCAHO accreditation had an average score of 97.