What is ambulatory care?
The word ambulatory means “capable of walking,” so ambulatory care would mean that you are able to walk in and walk out of the health care facility that is providing the medical care. There are many types of physicians that provide ambulatory care, including general practitioners, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatricians, obstetricians, gynecologists, cardiologists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, podiatrists, allergists, neurologists and many more. Types of out-patient therapies considered ambulatory include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation and cardiac rehabilitation. Mental health services, unless they are severe and require hospitalization, are done on an ambulatory basis. Essentially, any health care professional that sees patients in his office is providing ambulatory care. Most ambulatory care treatments are done on an appointment basis. Rarely does this type of health care result in immediate hospitalization. Emergency room visits and urgent care visits are also a type of health care where you will typically be able to walk-in and out of the visit, but they fall under a different classification on most health plans. This is because they are “spur-of-the-moment” visits to a health care facility and may result in hospitalization. Many physicians will visit their regular patients during a hospital stay, but they are not providing ambulatory care in this case. Their fees for hospital visits are often more expensive than the amount you pay when you visit them in their regular office location. 1 CommentLeave a comment |
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What is ambulatory care?
This refers to any medical care that is performed on an out-patient basis. This is the most common type of health care, since most medical procedures can be delivered without admittance into the hospital. As medical care becomes more advanced, in-patient hospitalization is limited to fewer medical conditions, typically those that are life-threatening or require a more closely monitored rehabilitation period. Examples of ambulatory care include physician offices visits, lab and radiology, out-patient surgical procedures, rehabilitation therapy and visits to specialists.
Thank you a lot for that explanation. I always have a hard time understanding what is what, when it comes to health care insurance. I mean, there is outpatient, inpatient, ambulatory care and emergency room care and what not! I guess it’s a good thing that we can get more and more illnesses treated without being admitted to a hospital. I remember years ago when I would spend hours in the emergency room to see a doctor when I or someone in my family was ill. I think modern technology has really helped a lot in making it easier to get a diagnosis as well as treatment and that health care insurance has become more valuable because of that. I used to live in a country that had socialized health care for a number of years and there was always waiting times to be seen to for even small problems. Can’t say I pay my premiums with joy, but in the end I prefer to be able to get fast treatment over saving a few bucks.
Comment by Helen — May 25, 2009 @ 8:37 am