IAAS - International Association for Ambulatory Surgery
SOBRACAM is the first ambulatory surgery society in Latin America to become a full member of the International Association of Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS).
The International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS) was founded in 1995 and is a registered charity in Belgium. Its main objective is to promote the worldwide development of high quality ambulatory surgery. In pursuit of this, the IAAS achieved a series of achievements. Even before its formal creation, the founding member countries initiated the publication of the first international peer-reviewed journal on ambulatory surgery. Entitled Ambulatory Surgery, the journal was first published in print in 1993 and is now freely available in electronic format at www.ambulatorysurgery.org
The founding of the IAAS coincided with its first international congress in Brussels. Since then, biennial congresses have been held in different locations around the world. The IAAS has also been involved in promoting the practice of ambulatory surgery at many national conferences in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa.
Politically, the IAAS has worked closely with organizations such as the European Union, the World Health Organization, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, national governments, etc. about the benefits and management of outpatient surgery. An example of this work is the booklet Policy Brief – Day Surgery: Making it Happen published in 2007 by the World Health Organization on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in collaboration with the IAAS. As a result of these activities, the number of national ambulatory surgery associations has increased, as has the amount of ambulatory surgery performed in most countries. This is clearly demonstrated in the regular two-year international benchmarking exercises carried out by the Association.
Goals of the International Association of Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS)
- Promote the development of high-quality ambulatory surgery.
- Stimulate the formation of national associations of ambulatory surgery.
- Promote education and training in ambulatory surgery for surgeons, anesthetists and nurses.
- Encourage multidisciplinary work in ambulatory surgery.
- Stimulate research in ambulatory surgery.
- To form an ambulatory surgery and anesthesia database.
- Promote the international exchange of knowledge and experience in ambulatory surgery.
- Organize seminars and conferences on ambulatory surgery.
- Develop internationally agreed guidelines for the practice of ambulatory surgery.
- Publish the peer-reviewed international journal, Ambulatory Surgery.
- Collaborate with international health organizations.
