Why Ambulatory Services Are Increasing In Popularity

By Cornelia White


The most common methods of healthcare provision is either under inpatient method where a patient stays in the hospital wards during the entire period of treatment or outpatient method where a patient do not have to stay in the hospital ward for treatment. The medical care procedure provided under outpatient method is ambulatory services. It covers all care and support, sometimes acute or even minor surgery that involves a day visit provided to outpatients.

Such services are normally available for both the adults and children and will depend on several factors the most important being the nature of medical complication and general health status. Medical facilities are now setting aside special clinics for this purpose with all the departments and specialties including rehabilitation, rheumatology, neurology and gynecology among others.

In the majority of advanced ambulatory care clinics, patients will normally be assigned to a special nurse who will coordinate his entire treatment program. In addition of answering the questions from the patient, this primary nursed plan all the treatment in all other visits, link with the doctors and other specialists in charge of that patient, keep all the records related to that patient and keep in touch with their patient to update his/her medical records. These nurses are basically charged with the responsibly of successful recovery of the patient.

Ambulatory services are usually provided through a multidisciplinary team approach where different highly skilled doctors, nurses, social workers, both physical and occupational therapists among others combine their efforts for the well being of the patient. This ensures that a patient only gets the best from a highly professional and experienced team. The primary nurse is always in contact with the patient when out of the hospital for any query or emergency.

With the popularity ambulatory services, insurance companies are readily offering covers in this area. Many employee benefits also include medical covers in this category, the result of which has seen these programs offered in highly subsidized costs particularly depending on the type of cover. In fact, the determinant of whether treatment is to be through in patient or outpatient process is normally the existing medical condition and the insurance cover.

Other than the normal treatments, many treatments that are now being provided through outpatient means include physical rehabilitation, orthotic, sport related injuries, chronic back pains (both acute and chronic), arthritis, neurology, oncology (polio, stroke, and nerve impairment), orthopedics (skeletal related disorders), osteoporosis (evaluation treatment), genetics and hereditary diseases, wound healing, rheumatology, and scoliosis among other support procedures.

The secret to outpatient medical care lies in the ability to follow up and monitor the patients. With such revelation, many health institutions are allocating huge budgets for this branch. It is now common to come across a major hospital with wards and many facilities in a central place but with several outpatient clinics set all around the city. Patients only come to the main hospital if it is a case that calls for hospitalization. Doctors also conduct frequent regional visits to promote this program in different parts of the town.

The bottom line is that ambulatory services are the preferred alternative as they cut operational costs, reduces congestion in hospitals while at the same time increases revenues for the medical institutions.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment