Designed to be efficient, ASCs provide a more focused and specialized approach to surgeries without the costly overhead typical in a hospital environment. The result is high-quality care with better patient satisfaction. When it comes to surgical case coordination, however, the natural evolution of technology and communication has created a fragmented mess involving email, text messages, phone calls, white boards and word of mouth. These outdated methods are time consuming and error prone and greatly increase the risk of miscommunication and missed documentation.

The challenge of coordinating a surgery begins at the physician’s office when it is determined that a patient needs surgery. The physician’s office faxes a scheduling form to the ASC, and once an opening is found, the two organizations exchange a series of phone calls to confirm the case. Surgery center staff then manually enter the information received from the physician’s office into the center’s practice management system.