Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) are also known as outpatient surgery centers or same day surgery centers.

An ASC is a health care facility that specializes in providing surgery, including certain pain management and diagnostic services in an outpatient setting. Overall, the services provided can be generally called procedures. In simple terms, ASC-qualified procedures can be considered procedures that are more intensive than those done in the average doctor's office but not so intensive as to require a hospital stay. ASCs do not routinely provide emergency services to patients who have not been admitted to the ASC for another procedure.