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Running header: AMBULATORY FACILITIES VS HOSPITALS

Ambulatory care vs. hospitals

Teena Anderson

HIT100-0803A-04

Instructor Jennifer Winterpacht

Colorado Technical University Online

July 29, 2008

Ambulatory care vs. hospitals

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The big River Community Hospital board of trustees is hearing rumors that a rival

hospital is thinking about opening a new clinic or hospital in the vicinity. Our board of trustees,

not knowing much about the services an ambulatory facility or hospital offer, would like for me

to do some research on both subjects and write a formal paper about it.

To begin with, I believe our trustees need to know the difference between the ambulatory

setting and the hospital setting.

In the United States, there a seven different kinds of hospitals that are serving many

different types of people. To the public, a typical hospital is one with an emergency room, which

you use for serve injuries or after hour illnesses, or you go to have surgeries. This is in-patient

care and is open 24/7. That is not the case in hospitals now days. With the different types of

hospitals today, there is a wide variety of services each one will offer. Take a Veterans hospital,

not everyone can use this facility. Granted, they will not turn you away if it is matter of life and

death situation, however, the VA was set up for our military veterans. Our veterans have special

needs that a regular hospital may not be able to address. A VA hospital does not offer a maternity

ward or pediatric care (Hospitals, 2008).

There is an academic hospital, these are teaching facilities. These facilities are open 24

hours a day and 7 days a week. They provide in-patient care. The academic facility usually

provides the services in a hospital setting. This is because the students have to study all aspects

of medicine and have hands on training.

A public hospital is usually found in the inner- city. They are set up to provide care for

the uninsured/ under insured of the community and may have ties with medical schools for their

staffing needs.
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Ambulatory care vs. hospitals

The not-for-profit hospital is the type we know best. These hospitals do not pay any taxes

in exchange for providing a certain level of care to the community. The community’s physicians

usually have clinic privileges there. The physicians are not on staff, but are able to admit, care

for, and discharge their patients in is hospital setting.

The for-profit hospital is basically operated in the same as the not-for-profit hospital. The

different is that this type of hospital does pay taxes and often turn to public sector to help raise

necessary funds.

The rural hospitals are located outside the larger cities, in the country. They could be

either not-for-profit or for-profit hospitals. These hospitals have been specified as rural by the

U.S. Public Health Services and receive federal support.

A specialty hospital is one that only serves one particular field of medicine. It could be a

heart clinic, burn center, or a cancer center. The staff is specially trained in that particular field.

A typical large hospital can offer many types of services, any where from A to Z:

• Anesthesia

• Behavioral Health

• Back/spine care

• Breast health

• Cancer care
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• Cardiology

• Emergency care

• Laboratory work

• Radiology

• Surgeries

This is just naming a few of the services a hospital could offer. There are many more

and they could be listed under different names (AtlantiCare, 2008).

Ambulatory care is also called out-patient care. Ambulatory care is basically: care that is

given outside the hospital setting, or not being admitted to the hospital for care (Pointer,

Williams, Isaacs, & Knickman, 2007). While some hospitals offer out-patient care, most

ambulatory care is done in clinics, doctors’ offices and even a patient’s home.

In the 1990’s ambulatory care was becoming popular. With the ever increasing

advancements in technology, the rising health cost, and the need for easier access to health care,

the procedures once done in the hospital, can now easily done in the out-patient setting. Due to

rising in health care costs, many doctors’ office has gone to a group of doctors practicing under

the same roof. For example: A heart clinic will only have specialty physicians dealing the heart.

There are many specialty clinics around, however there are still some of the general care clinics

around. These general clinics are ambulatory or out-patient clinics. Many are set up with a

radiology department, a lab department, and can do EKGs. These ambulatory clinics offer a wide

variety services like:

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• The family clinic, for the normal everyday illnesses and injuries

• Birthing centers instead of a maternity ward

• Diagnostic imaging centers instead of having to go to the hospital just to have a

mammogram done.

• A physical therapy group outside the hospital walls

• Many community health centers for the homeless, uninsured or under insured.

• Out-patient surgery could be done in the office.

• Women’s healthcare centers (Accreditation Association, 2008)

The ambulatory care setting and the hospital setting have a lot of health services in

common. A lot of hospital today are offering more out-patients services then ever before. As

people become more aware of their health and the options they have, they will continue to

demand more ambulatory care centers. The ambulatory care system also saves the patient time

and money compared to having the same procedure done as an in-patient at a hospital.
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References

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, (2008) Retrieved July 26, 2008, from

http://www.aaahc.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?webcode=types_accredited

AtlanitCare – Health Services (2008) Retrieved July 26, 2008 from

http://www.atlanticare.org/healthservices/index.php

HOSPITALS, (2004) In Encyclopedia of Health Care Management, Sage Retrieved July 26,

2008, from http://www.credoreference.com/entry.jsp?xrefid=5064275%secid

Pointer, Williams, Isaacs, & Knickman, (2007) Introduction to U.S. Healthcare [electronic

version], Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons