Question

The term ambulatory care is often used interchangeably with outpatient services. Define both and explain the difference. What do you think are several key changes that have been instrumental in shifting the balance between inpatient and outpatient services? What implications has the decline in hospital occupancy rates had for hospital management?

Answer 1

Ambulatory care.

It is the care provided to patients in outpatient basis where diagnosis, consultation,treatment services are given.It is mostly provides for walking people.

Outpatient services.

It is the care is mostly provides to patients where overnight stay is not required.

Key changes.

Outpatient services where overnight stay is not required by patients.

Inpatient services where overnight stay is required by patients.

Inpatient care is costly than outpatient services.

Mostly prefer outpatient care because they prefer home than hospital.Social, technology,physician factors are the shifting factors between inpatient and outpatient services.

Decline in hospital occupancy rates resulted in ambulatory services are given more importance because most people are not interested in inpatient care so they started administrating the ambulatory care market so that their organisation service.