Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Summary of Accounting Policies Below are a summary of the Company's policies that are not otherwise found within other notes. a. Principles of Consolidation Ambulatory Services AmSurg Corp. (the “Company”), through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, owns interests, primarily 51%, in LPs and LLCs which own and operate ASCs primarily in the following specialties: gastroenterology; multi-specialty; ophthalmology; and orthopaedics. The Company does not have an ownership interest in a LP or LLC greater than 51% which it does not consolidate. The Company has ownership interests of less than 51% in ten LPs and LLCs, one of which it consolidates as the Company has substantive participation rights and nine of which it does not consolidate as the Company’s rights are limited to protective rights only. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and the consolidated LPs and LLCs. Consolidation of such LPs and LLCs is necessary as the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries have primarily 51% or more of the financial interest of the LPs and LLCs, are the general partner or majority member with all the duties, rights and responsibilities thereof, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the LPs and LLCs, and have control of the entities. The responsibilities of the Company’s noncontrolling partners (LPs and noncontrolling members) are to supervise the delivery of medical services, with their rights being restricted to those that protect their financial interests, such as approval of the acquisition of significant assets or the incurrence of debt which they are generally required to guarantee on a pro rata basis based upon their respective ownership interests. Intercompany profits, transactions and balances have been eliminated. All LPs and LLCs and noncontrolling partners are referred to herein as “partnerships” and “partners”, respectively. Ownership interests in consolidated subsidiaries held by parties other than the Company are identified and generally presented in the consolidated financial statements within the equity section but separate from the Company’s equity. However, for instances in which certain redemption features that are not solely within the control of the Company are present, classification of noncontrolling interests outside of permanent equity is required. Consolidated net income attributable to the Company and to the noncontrolling interests are identified and presented on the consolidated statements of operations; changes in ownership interests are accounted for as equity transactions; and when a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary and the gain or loss on the deconsolidation of the subsidiary are measured at fair value. Certain transactions with noncontrolling interests are also classified within financing activities in the statements of cash flows. As further described in note 19, upon the occurrence of various fundamental regulatory changes, the Company would be obligated, under the terms of certain partnership and operating agreements, to purchase the noncontrolling interests related to a substantial majority of the Company’s partnerships. While the Company believes that the likelihood of a change in current law that would trigger such purchases was remote as of December 31, 2014, the occurrence of such regulatory changes is outside the control of the Company. As a result, these noncontrolling interests that are subject to this redemption feature are not included as part of the Company’s equity and are classified as noncontrolling interests – redeemable on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Center profits and losses of consolidated entities are allocated to the Company’s partners in proportion to their ownership percentages and reflected in the aggregate as net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests. The partners of the Company’s center partnerships typically are organized as general partnerships, LPs or LLCs that are not subject to federal income tax. Each partner shares in the pre-tax earnings of the center in which it is a partner. Accordingly, the earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests in each of the Company’s consolidated partnerships are generally determined on a pre-tax basis, and total net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests are presented after net earnings. However, the Company considers the impact of the net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests on earnings before income taxes in order to determine the amount of pre-tax earnings on which the Company must determine its tax expense. In addition, distributions from the partnerships are made to both the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries and the partners on a pre-tax basis. Physician Services On July 16, 2014, the Company completed its acquisition of Sheridan. Sheridan is a national provider of multi-specialty physician and administrative services to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other healthcare facilities. Sheridan focuses on delivering comprehensive physician services, primarily in the areas of anesthesiology, children's services, radiology and emergency medicine to healthcare facilities. Through its contracts with healthcare facilities, Sheridan is authorized to bill and collect charges for fee for service medical services rendered by its healthcare professionals and employees in exchange for the provision of services to the patients of these facilities. Contract revenue is earned directly from hospital customers through a variety of payment arrangements that are established when payments from third-party payors are inadequate to support the costs of providing the services required under the contract. Sheridan also provides physician services and manages office-based practices in the areas of gynecology, obstetrics and perinatology. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Sheridan and its wholly-owned subsidiaries along with the accounts of affiliated PCs with which Sheridan currently has management arrangements. Sheridan's agreements with these PCs provide that the term of the arrangements is permanent, subject only to termination by the Company, except in the case of gross negligence, fraud or bankruptcy of the Company. These arrangements are captive in nature as a majority of the outstanding voting equity instruments of the PCs are owned by nominee shareholders appointed at the sole discretion of the Company. The Company has a contractual right to transfer the ownership of the PCs at any time to any person it designates as the nominee shareholder. The Company has the right to receive income, both as ongoing fees and as proceeds from the sale of its interest in the PCs, in an amount that fluctuates based on the performance of the PCs and the change in the fair value of the Company’s interest in the PCs. The Company has exclusive responsibility for the provision of all non-medical services required for the day-to-day operation and management of the PCs and establishes the guidelines for the employment and compensation of the physicians and other employees of the PCs. In addition, the agreements provide that the Company has the right, but not the obligation, to purchase, or to designate a person(s) to purchase, the stock of the PCs for a nominal amount. Separately, in its sole discretion, the Company has the right to assign its interest in the management and purchase agreements. Based upon the provisions of these agreements, the Company has determined that the PCs are variable interest entities and that the Company is the primary beneficiary as defined in the accounting guidance for consolidation. b. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents are comprised principally of demand deposits at banks and other highly liquid short-term investments with maturities of less than three months when purchased. Cash and cash equivalents are reflected in the financial statements at cost, which approximates fair value. c. Restricted Cash and Marketable Securities As of December 31, 2014 the Company had $30.3 million of restricted cash and marketable securities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, which is restricted for the purpose of satisfying the obligations of the Company's wholly-owned captive insurance company. The Company has reflected $20.1 million of its restricted cash and marketable securities as a component of other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet. The remaining $10.2 million is reflected as a component of total current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as such amount is available to satisfy the claims payments estimated to occur in the next twelve months. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had $3.0 million included in restricted cash and marketable securities which are certificates of deposit with maturities less than 180 days, which approximates fair value. d. Supplies Inventory Supplies inventory consists of medical and drug supplies and is recorded at cost on a first-in, first-out basis. e. Fair Value Measurements The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability. The inputs used by the Company to measure fair value are classified into the following hierarchy: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the measurement date. Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date. In determining the fair value of assets and liabilities that are measured on a recurring basis at December 31, 2014 and 2013, with the exception of the contingent purchase price payable (further discussed in note 4), the Company utilized Level 1 and 2 inputs to perform such measurements methods, which were commensurate with the market approach. There were no transfers to or from Levels 1 and 2 during the year ended December 31, 2014. The Company's non-patient receivables and accounts payable are reflected in the financial statements at cost, which approximates fair value. f. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. g. Reclassifications Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements and these notes have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Such reclassifications primarily result from the acquisition of Sheridan and the impact of additional discontinued operations as further discussed in note 6. h. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2014-08 “Presentation of Financial Statements and Property, Plant and Equipment,” which raised the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and requires certain new disclosures for individually material disposals that do not meet the new definition of a discontinued operation. The ASU’s intent is to reduce the number of disposals reported as discontinued operations by focusing on strategic shifts that have or will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results rather than routine disposals that are not a change in the Company’s strategy. The guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014, with earlier adoption permitted. From time to time, the Company will dispose of certain of its entities due to management’s assessment of the Company’s strategy in the market and due to limited growth opportunities at those entities. Historically, these dispositions were classified as discontinued operations and recorded separately from continuing operations. Upon adoption in the first quarter of 2015, this ASU will require the Company to record the results of operations and the associated gain or loss from similar dispositions as a component of continuing operations. The Company does not believe this ASU will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or cash flows. In May 2014, Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2014-09 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” which will eliminate the transaction and industry-specific revenue recognition guidance under current GAAP and replace it with a principle-based approach using the following steps: identify the contract(s) with a customer, identify the performance obligations in the contract, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract and recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The guidance in ASU 2014-09 is effective for public entities for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods therein. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company has yet to assess the impact, if any, this ASU will have on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, "Consolidations (Topic 810) - Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis". The new guidance makes amendments to the current consolidation guidance, including introducing a separate consolidation analysis specific to limited partnerships and other similar entities. Under this analysis, limited partnerships and other similar entities will be considered a variable-interest entity unless the limited partners hold substantive kick-out rights or participating rights. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The Company has yet to assess the impact, if any, this ASU will have on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Summary of Accounting Policies

Below are a summary of the Company's policies that are not otherwise found within other notes.

a. Principles of Consolidation

Ambulatory Services

AmSurg Corp. (the “Company”), through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, owns interests, primarily 51%, in LPs and LLCs which own and operate ASCs primarily in the following specialties: gastroenterology; multi-specialty; ophthalmology; and orthopaedics. The Company does not have an ownership interest in a LP or LLC greater than 51% which it does not consolidate. The Company has ownership interests of less than 51% in ten LPs and LLCs, one of which it consolidates as the Company has substantive participation rights and nine of which it does not consolidate as the Company’s rights are limited to protective rights only. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and the consolidated LPs and LLCs. Consolidation of such LPs and LLCs is necessary as the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries have primarily 51% or more of the financial interest of the LPs and LLCs, are the general partner or majority member with all the duties, rights and responsibilities thereof, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the LPs and LLCs, and have control of the entities. The responsibilities of the Company’s noncontrolling partners (LPs and noncontrolling members) are to supervise the delivery of medical services, with their rights being restricted to those that protect their financial interests, such as approval of the acquisition of significant assets or the incurrence of debt which they are generally required to guarantee on a pro rata basis based upon their respective ownership interests. Intercompany profits, transactions and balances have been eliminated. All LPs and LLCs and noncontrolling partners are referred to herein as “partnerships” and “partners”, respectively.

Ownership interests in consolidated subsidiaries held by parties other than the Company are identified and generally presented in the consolidated financial statements within the equity section but separate from the Company’s equity. However, for instances in which certain redemption features that are not solely within the control of the Company are present, classification of noncontrolling interests outside of permanent equity is required. Consolidated net income attributable to the Company and to the noncontrolling interests are identified and presented on the consolidated statements of operations; changes in ownership interests are accounted for as equity transactions; and when a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary and the gain or loss on the deconsolidation of the subsidiary are measured at fair value. Certain transactions with noncontrolling interests are also classified within financing activities in the statements of cash flows.

As further described in note 19, upon the occurrence of various fundamental regulatory changes, the Company would be obligated, under the terms of certain partnership and operating agreements, to purchase the noncontrolling interests related to a substantial majority of the Company’s partnerships. While the Company believes that the likelihood of a change in current law that would trigger such purchases was remote as of December 31, 2014, the occurrence of such regulatory changes is outside the control of the Company. As a result, these noncontrolling interests that are subject to this redemption feature are not included as part of the Company’s equity and are classified as noncontrolling interests – redeemable on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Center profits and losses of consolidated entities are allocated to the Company’s partners in proportion to their ownership percentages and reflected in the aggregate as net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests. The partners of the Company’s center partnerships typically are organized as general partnerships, LPs or LLCs that are not subject to federal income tax. Each partner shares in the pre-tax earnings of the center in which it is a partner. Accordingly, the earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests in each of the Company’s consolidated partnerships are generally determined on a pre-tax basis, and total net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests are presented after net earnings. However, the Company considers the impact of the net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests on earnings before income taxes in order to determine the amount of pre-tax earnings on which the Company must determine its tax expense. In addition, distributions from the partnerships are made to both the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries and the partners on a pre-tax basis.

Physician Services

On July 16, 2014, the Company completed its acquisition of Sheridan. Sheridan is a national provider of multi-specialty physician and administrative services to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other healthcare facilities. Sheridan focuses on delivering comprehensive physician services, primarily in the areas of anesthesiology, children's services, radiology and emergency medicine to healthcare facilities. Through its contracts with healthcare facilities, Sheridan is authorized to bill and collect charges for fee for service medical services rendered by its healthcare professionals and employees in exchange for the provision of services to the patients of these facilities. Contract revenue is earned directly from hospital customers through a variety of payment arrangements that are established when payments from third-party payors are inadequate to support the costs of providing the services required under the contract. Sheridan also provides physician services and manages office-based practices in the areas of gynecology, obstetrics and perinatology. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Sheridan and its wholly-owned subsidiaries along with the accounts of affiliated PCs with which Sheridan currently has management arrangements. Sheridan's agreements with these PCs provide that the term of the arrangements is permanent, subject only to termination by the Company, except in the case of gross negligence, fraud or bankruptcy of the Company. These arrangements are captive in nature as a majority of the outstanding voting equity instruments of the PCs are owned by nominee shareholders appointed at the sole discretion of the Company. The Company has a contractual right to transfer the ownership of the PCs at any time to any person it designates as the nominee shareholder. The Company has the right to receive income, both as ongoing fees and as proceeds from the sale of its interest in the PCs, in an amount that fluctuates based on the performance of the PCs and the change in the fair value of the Company’s interest in the PCs. The Company has exclusive responsibility for the provision of all non-medical services required for the day-to-day operation and management of the PCs and establishes the guidelines for the employment and compensation of the physicians and other employees of the PCs. In addition, the agreements provide that the Company has the right, but not the obligation, to purchase, or to designate a person(s) to purchase, the stock of the PCs for a nominal amount. Separately, in its sole discretion, the Company has the right to assign its interest in the management and purchase agreements. Based upon the provisions of these agreements, the Company has determined that the PCs are variable interest entities and that the Company is the primary beneficiary as defined in the accounting guidance for consolidation.

b. Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised principally of demand deposits at banks and other highly liquid short-term investments with maturities of less than three months when purchased. Cash and cash equivalents are reflected in the financial statements at cost, which approximates fair value.

c. Restricted Cash and Marketable Securities

As of December 31, 2014 the Company had $30.3 million of restricted cash and marketable securities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, which is restricted for the purpose of satisfying the obligations of the Company's wholly-owned captive insurance company. The Company has reflected $20.1 million of its restricted cash and marketable securities as a component of other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet. The remaining $10.2 million is reflected as a component of total current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as such amount is available to satisfy the claims payments estimated to occur in the next twelve months. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had $3.0 million included in restricted cash and marketable securities which are certificates of deposit with maturities less than 180 days, which approximates fair value.

d. Supplies Inventory

Supplies inventory consists of medical and drug supplies and is recorded at cost on a first-in, first-out basis.

e. Fair Value Measurements

The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability. The inputs used by the Company to measure fair value are classified into the following hierarchy:

Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the measurement date.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

In determining the fair value of assets and liabilities that are measured on a recurring basis at December 31, 2014 and 2013, with the exception of the contingent purchase price payable (further discussed in note 4), the Company utilized Level 1 and 2 inputs to perform such measurements methods, which were commensurate with the market approach. There were no transfers to or from Levels 1 and 2 during the year ended December 31, 2014. The Company's non-patient receivables and accounts payable are reflected in the financial statements at cost, which approximates fair value.

f. Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

g. Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements and these notes have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Such reclassifications primarily result from the acquisition of Sheridan and the impact of additional discontinued operations as further discussed in note 6.

h. Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2014-08 “Presentation of Financial Statements and Property, Plant and Equipment,” which raised the threshold for a disposal to qualify as a discontinued operation and requires certain new disclosures for individually material disposals that do not meet the new definition of a discontinued operation. The ASU’s intent is to reduce the number of disposals reported as discontinued operations by focusing on strategic shifts that have or will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results rather than routine disposals that are not a change in the Company’s strategy. The guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014, with earlier adoption permitted. From time to time, the Company will dispose of certain of its entities due to management’s assessment of the Company’s strategy in the market and due to limited growth opportunities at those entities. Historically, these dispositions were classified as discontinued operations and recorded separately from continuing operations. Upon adoption in the first quarter of 2015, this ASU will require the Company to record the results of operations and the associated gain or loss from similar dispositions as a component of continuing operations. The Company does not believe this ASU will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or cash flows.

In May 2014, Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2014-09 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” which will eliminate the transaction and industry-specific revenue recognition guidance under current GAAP and replace it with a principle-based approach using the following steps: identify the contract(s) with a customer, identify the performance obligations in the contract, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract and recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The guidance in ASU 2014-09 is effective for public entities for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods therein. Early adoption is not permitted. The Company has yet to assess the impact, if any, this ASU will have on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02, "Consolidations (Topic 810) - Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis". The new guidance makes amendments to the current consolidation guidance, including introducing a separate consolidation analysis specific to limited partnerships and other similar entities. Under this analysis, limited partnerships and other similar entities will be considered a variable-interest entity unless the limited partners hold substantive kick-out rights or participating rights. The standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The Company has yet to assess the impact, if any, this ASU will have on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.