Marian

I agree with you, sunnyflorida (although I suspect there are more such services in sunny Florida than in the rest of the country because of the large number of elderly people living alone in Florida). I think that sort of service would be a good choice if it's readily available, and money in the range that we're talking about (probably three figures) is not a significant issue.

In addition to the reasons you mention, there's also the call back/come back list -- the list of things that might happen after a procedure (but usually don't) that warrant a phone call to the doctor or a return trip to the medical facility. A person who's still under the influence of drugs isn't ready to cope with this list on their own. If something unusual occurs, they might not think to check the list to see whether it warrants further contact with the medical system. That's another reason why you want a companion to stick around for a while until the patient is sober. I think that most of us would not hesitate to ask a family member or a paid health care aide to stick around after a procedure for this sort of purpose, but we might hesitate with an acquaintance who has already wasted several hours on our behalf.