Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of same-day discharge following outpatient surgery in a US hospital.

In the US, safe and effective same-day discharge of patients, following uncomplicated, ambulatory surgery, also referred to as outpatient surgery, significantly reduces the nursing hours spent caring for patients who do not require hospital admission. Data from the last three decades show that same-day discharge for patients who undergo approved outpatient surgical procedures carries no higher risk of complications than for those who stay for 24-hour observation. This article describes a service development project which evaluated patients' perceived preparedness for same-day discharge. Results suggest that a standardised approach to managing potential complicating factors, such as pain and patients' expectations, can increase the number of successful same-day discharges. The terms outpatient and ambulatory are used interchangeably in the article, and refer to surgical procedures for which inpatient admission is not considered necessary by patients' insurance providers.