ALEXANDRIA, VA, June 13, 2013 — The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) has released a new interactive online map that pinpoints the locations of all Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and general acute care hospitals in the US.
The map will display ASCs within a 50-mile radius of any address, city or ZIP code and allows users to type in their address and get turn-by-turn directions to a nearby ASC using Google Maps. The map can also breakdown the location of ASCs by state or congressional district.
“The map successfully illustrates that moving more eligible procedures into the ASC setting would not reduce access to patient care,” said ASCA Chief Executive Officer William Prentice. “It is also an effective tool for policy makers, public development planners, business owners and others who have a need to evaluate the health care services available in their region.”
In addition, the map is a valuable resource for physicians who are considering opening an ASC or looking for new options for their same-day surgery patients as well as individual ASCs and ASC management companies that are looking to expand. The map also demonstrates the difference in the number of ASCs in states with and without state certificate of need laws.
The map is located on ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care web site, advancingsurgicalcare.org, which is designed to help educate the public, media and policymakers about ASCs and their benefits. The site explains the value of physician-ownership, the savings that ASCs pass along to patients and providers and ASCs’ longstanding commitment to quality care. In addition to the new locations map, resource on the site include a map of state-specific information about ASCs for each state, a timeline of the history of ASCs and testimonials from physicians, ASC staff and patients.
Click here to start exploring the map.
###
About ASCs: ASCs are an integral part of the health care system, providing critical access to surgical and diagnostic care, including preventive services. As essential Medicare providers of surgical and cancer screening services, ASCs perform more than 40 percent of Medicare colonoscopies.
About the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA): ASCA is working to raise awareness of the important role that ASCs play in the US health care system and the high-quality, cost-effective care that ASCs provide. For more about ASCA, go to ascassociation.org.