Today, the emphasis of most of the researches and advancements in healthcare is on introducing technology that supports day care procedures and surgeries. The average length of stay (ALOS) in hospitals has reduced drastically for many types of surgeries like Endoscopic, Laproscopic, Ophthalmic, Orthopeadic and cosmetic surgeries.
Cost containment, decompression of beds, reduced nosocomial infection and early recovery in home environment are some of the factors that are inclining people more towards day care surgeries in healthcare. When we talk of cost containment, it has benefited both the providers and the seekers. The healthcare providers are able to contain their cost to as high as 40% and on the other hand, the seekers pay less for the cost of stay which has many other costs coupled with the same.
The woeful number of Patient: Bed ratio in developing nations, increasing fight of chronic and lifestyle diseases and burden of more aging population is unable to match the demand and supply which is further increasing the demand of day care surgeries amongst both, the healthcare providers and the patients.
The day care surgeries sound gifted and promising in today’s scenario but the challenges attached to the same cannot be ignored, especially in the developing nations. Day care procedures and surgeries have its’ own set of clinical quality protocols which needs to be adhered to very strictly to avoid any post operative complication acquired due to lack of medical care which could have been provided within the hospital by the medical and paramedical team. Once the patient walks-out of the operation theatre, his post operative care is more dependent on his family and relatives instead of medical team in the hospitals.
But all said and done, the advantages of the day care surgeries is no wonder much beyond its disadvantages and the time is not too far when more and more complicated tertiary care surgeries shall be done under day care.