Economic outcomes analysis from an ambulatory surgical center.

In the competitive healthcare marketplace, foot surgeons are being placed under pressure to demonstrate the economic value of surgical care. The management methodology of "fiscal outcomes review" is one tool being used to evaluate such care. Initially developed for internal corporate management as an executive decision support system, the process is being used an an external cost control technique to "economically credential" providers of surgical care. Consequently, the economic outcomes analysis of a single surgical procedure represents a first attempt to gather, allocate, analyze, and interpret meaningful charge information relative to the podiatric Ambulatory Surgery Center setting. When compared with the traditional outpatient hospital setting, charge reductions are documented without compromising quality. The long-held belief that Ambulatory Surgery Center surgery is more efficient than traditional outpatient surgery, can then be corroborated.