According to a survey by the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that rates hospitals, more than 1 in 3 medical professionals who perform operations at surgery centers are not board certified in their medical specialty says USAToday.

Leapfrog surveyed more than 1,400 hospital- and doctor-owned surgery centers. Unlike hospitals, that must report quality measures, little information is available to the public when evaluating same-day-surgery centers.

These facilities now perform the majority of U.S. surgical procedures, releasing patients the same day. Leah Binder, CEO of Leapfrog Group stated, “Virtually nothing is known in a systematic way about the safety of these centers.”

As doctors and specialists shift away from hospitals, centers like these now handle more than 60 percent of surgeries and procedures. Typically this is done for healthier individuals who do not require the level of monitoring that the hospital provides.

The report found some centers fell short on standards such as hand hygiene and programs that encourage responsible use of antibiotics. Such policies can improve patient outcomes, reduce microbial resistance, and ultimately decrease the spread of infections, Leapfrog’s report said.

Dr. Lee Fleisher, a University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine professor and chair of the Leapfrog Group’s expert panel on surgery centers, suggests that patients should ask certain questions when considering a surgery center.

“Is the center and are the people in the center appropriate?” asked Fleisher. “Are all safeguards in place? If a problem develops, what are the safeguards of the place where you are going?”

Do your homework before you go under any surgeon’s knife. It might just save your life.

For Leapfrog’s full executive summary here.