Is ambulatory care the same as outpatient care?
Thereof, what is considered ambulatory care?
Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and procedures even when provided outside of hospitals.
Thereof, what are some examples of ambulatory care services?
Any health care you can get without staying in a hospital is ambulatory care. That includes diagnostic tests, treatments, or rehab visits.
These are some, but not all, types of outpatient care:
- Blood tests.
- Biopsy.
- Chemotherapy.
- Colonoscopy.
- CT scan.
- Mammograms.
- Minor surgical procedures.
- Radiation treatments.
The difference between an inpatient and outpatient care is how long a patient must remain in the facility where they have the procedure done. Inpatient care requires overnight hospitalization. Patients must stay at the medical facility where their procedure was done (which is usually a hospital) for at least one night.