How these orthopedic surgeons gain patient trust for outpatient surgery

Patsy Newitt - Print  |

Christopher Nanson, MD, and James Ballard, MD, two orthopedic surgeons from Oregon Surgical Institute in Beaverton, joined "Becker's Ambulatory Surgery Centers Podcast" to discuss how to address patient concerns with surgery migration to ASCs. 

Here is an excerpt from the podcast. Click here to download the episode.

This excerpt has been edited lightly for clarity and cohesion

Question: What do you see today in terms of patient discussion about where to have the surgery?

Dr. James Ballard: I think we're seeing a climb in people coming into ASCs and wanting to get away from the hospital. Particularly because of the pandemic, I think a lot of my patients aren't particularly saying that they want an outpatient joint replacement, but for the people that don't ask about it, when I tell them that's where we're going to go, they're excited about it. 

I rarely get pushback from people because I explain how our complication profile for the surgery center is lower than even our hospital in every metric. I tell them what their experience is going to be like, and then they embrace it. 

We have a lot of people that come back for following procedures, and all those people routinely rave about the experience in comparison.

Dr. Christopher Nanson: I completely agree with that. That comes from finalizing the pathway and making sure that everything's set and these patients are getting a good experience. They leave without a lot of pain. The No. 1 priority is for the patient to go home the same day. No. 2 is making sure that you really pull off a good pathway, and that these patients are comfortable leaving that day because we've got their trust.
