Where should I schedule my procedure?
Digestive Health gastroenterologists practice at both facilities. The Southwest Endoscopy Center is a Medicare-certified licensed ambulatory surgery center specializing in the performance of endoscopic procedures. Mercy Regional Medical Center is a regional general hospital providing outpatient surgical services, which include gastrointestinal endoscopy, in addition to a broad array of other outpatient, inpatient, critical care and emergency medical services.
Patients who are in good general health are medically eligible to have procedures performed at either facility. Patients with serious active health problems, particularly related to their heart or lungs, or who have certain implanted devices such as automatic implantable cardiac defibrillators (AICDs) must have their procedures performed at the hospital. Certain procedures require equipment or ancillary support only available at the hospital.
In general, care at a specialized ambulatory endoscopy center will be more private, more convenient, more efficient, and less expensive than care provided at a hospital outpatient department.
We proudly disclose our doctor's ownership of the Southwest Endoscopy Center. Their dedication to and influence over the operation of our small facility helps us to provide you with the best possible health care experience. We are interested in your opinions. Please let us know if you think we can improve!
You may wish to consider the following in your choice of an endoscopy center:
Southwest Endoscopy Center
- Check-in 45 minutes before your scheduled start time.
- Your scheduled procedure day is secure. We will occasionally ask our patients to come in a little earlier or later in the day than originally scheduled, but we will accomodate you on the day you have selected.
- Procedures generally start on time, or with only minor delays.
- Single flat fee (predictable charges)
- Least expensive
- Convenient in-town location
- Highly specialized and experienced staff. Endoscopy is all we do!
Mercy Regional Medical Center
- Check-in 2 hours before your scheduled start time.
- While we respect that you have arrangements with regard to your personal schedule and that for your driver, we may occasionally need to ask you to change your procedure date on short notice a day or so prior to your scheduled examination. This is a matter of medical necessity when we need to accomodate a patient whose urgent medical needs supercede yours. We regret the inconvenience this may cause you and appreciate your understanding. Of course, we will delay another elective patient's care if necessary to attend to your own medically urgent needs.
- Start times are frequently delayed as a result of unscheduled urgent hospital needs. Digestive Health doctors are "on call" when working at the hospital, and must attend to emergencies and urgent patient matters arising on the inpatient units and emergency department which may delay your procedure without notice. We appreciate your understanding when this occurs and know that you realize that we would also do what is necessary to attend to your own emergency at the expense of another elective patient's care, should one arise.
- Variable itemized charges for supplies, medication and time units of service
- More expensive
- Full health care support services (operating room and anesthesia/surgical services, emergency department services, diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, intensive care unit services). Fortunately, these critical services are rarely needed during or following a routine endoscopic procedure, but the availability of such support is important in the scheduling of procedures for seriously and chronically ill individuals, or for certain high risk procedures.
The material provided on this website is for general informational purposes only.
If you need specific medical advice, please contact our office for an appointment.
Administration | Practice Privacy Notice | Web Privacy Notice | Photo Credits
