Colonoscopy: Clinic vs Hospital (infect, doctors, cancer, symptoms)

[notrhj]

Have the procedure where the experts are.

My gastro group uses an 3 yr old out patient clinic and for the morbidly obese the facilities of our 30 yr old hospital.

In each case I would go where the experts practice and not concern myself with the scenery.
Although the out patient clinic has heated towels and blankets which was a nice change.

[CarnivalGal]

I did mine in a clinic and it all went very smoothly. It was all they did there, so they were very well-versed and efficient in the whole process. I would go back there again.

It was part of the Gastro group's practice. The building was adjacent to their offices for regular exams/visits.

[gentlearts]

My gastroenterologist group has a fully staffed, state of the art, spa like, facility for colonoscopies and other procedures. I have never gone anywhere else, nor would I want to.

They are near the hospital if an emergency were to arise.

[MsMetal]

I was only given propofol in both situations & my co-pay is the same at both.

[phonelady61]

If it were me I would choose the hospital because I am the one in the family that always has something go wrong so that is why I would choose the hospital just saying ...

[CarnivalGal]

Curiously, my own GP recommends avoiding a hospital for them. She says they are just a cess pool of germs and you are pretty much guaranteed that they will screw up your bill, the procedure will be delayed, etc.

The clinic my GI doc had (there are several GI docs that make up the practice; they all use the same clinic) was very clean, very efficient, and handled all the insurance stuff, even after the insurance company gave them a hard time. There were no shift changes and such, so we had the same nurse and anesthesiologst assigned to us the whole time. It was a good experience.

I was given propofol for the procedure, which I also highly recommend. Good stuff.

[suzy_q2010]

All three of mine have been in the surgery center run by a gastroenterology group. It is literally across the street from a hospital in the event of a complication. I had propofol with no problems.

[C24L]

I had both a colonoscopy and endoscopy in hospitals but I am about to have them done in a clinic.I feel fine with the thought of doing them in a clinic.

[cekkk]

I've had three with the fourth, and last, due to age, overdue. All were in "clinics." And I believe that is preferable to a hospital setting. Here's why.

Some years ago I needed cataract surgery. My ophthalmologist used his clinic on the lower floor, to which my insurance company replied that they only paid for a hospital procedure. On appeal they relented. The doctor's nurse told me he did conduct hospital based surgeries once a month but did not like the idea of being unfamiliar with assisting staff, the concerns of higher incidents of staff infections in hospitals and one or two other objections I don't recall.

The idea of controlling the people who would be assisting him in a facility he controlled made a lot of sense to me then, and still does after that and the colonoscopy procedures. Not mentioned but a factor I like is the assembly line similarity. It's pretty much all they do, frequently. And a large and frequent number of successful procedures is important when surgery is involved.

[2sleepy]

My husband and I both had ours done in colonscopy clinics, but our experiences varied considerably. The clinic he went to was run like a factory, they would book a dozen patients at a time so there would be 30-40 patients in the waiting room at a time we had to wait for probably an hour. When they called his name they took him to a room with at least 10 patients in it with drapes separating the beds for privacy. They started an IV and then they seem to have forgotten him, he laid there for almost two hours. I found a nurse and she apologized and about 15 minutes later they wheeled him in for his procedure, when he was done he laid in the same room for nearly 3 hours waiting for the doctor to come and see him, as it turns out the doctor had left for the day so they had to find another one to talk to him (everything was fine) after that he got dressed and we left. We arrived there at 7:30 am and he was done at 4:00 PM it was awful

I went to a different clinic in the same town and had an entirely different experience, they didn't over book or make people wait for hours, I got there put a gown on they started an IV and 15 minutes later they doctor showed up. I declined anesthetic, so the procedure took a little longer than it might on an anesthetized patient, when I was done they had me lay on the gurney for maybe 45 minutes at which time they took out the IV, I got dressed and left. I was there for a total of less than 3 hours.