No abstract

An increasing number of media reports on patient safety risks arising from office-based surgery procedures, as well as growing concerns about patient safety issues in general, have brought office-based surgery as well as its practitioners into focus and placed this very cost-effective medical practice in the eye of the media and regulators. Concerted efforts are now being made to understand the causes and true incidence of patient safety risk associated with office-based surgery and to find ways to minimize this risk.

The medical and legislative community should seek to scientifically examine office surgery. Overregulation or loss of office surgery would have a tremendous impact on the management of skin cancers and the delivery of quality cosmetic and laser surgery.

BACKGROUND. Office-based surgery has become an important method of health-care delivery, but there is controversy about its safety and which practitioners should perform it. Several states have already or are preparing to enact legislation regulating office-based surgery. OBJECTIVE. The objective was to discuss recent literature pertaining to the safety of office surgery and to discuss reasons why there are perceived differences in its safety. METHODS. The pertinent literature is reviewed.RESULTS. The majority of studies suggest that office surgery is safe. A recent study that found to the contrary may have methodologic flaws. CONCLUSION. The medical and legislative community should seek to scientifically examine office surgery. Overregulation or loss of office surgery would have a tremendous impact on the management of skin cancers and the delivery of quality cosmetic and laser surgery.

An increasing number of media reports on patient safety risks arising from office-based surgery procedures, as well as growing concerns about patient safety issues in general, have brought office-based surgery as well as its practitioners into focus and placed this very cost-effective medical practice in the eye of the media and regulators. Concerted efforts are now being made to understand the causes and true incidence of patient safety risk associated with office-based surgery and to find ways to minimize this risk.