Outpatient healthcare has been in existence for a long time and the roles played by hospitals in providing outpatient care to patients are have been increasingly recorded. The number of hospital visits on an outpatient basis has increased by more than three times over the past two decades (Gold, 2018). While home-based care offered by a number of physicians, outpatient hospital visits are still on the increase. Currently, outpatient care includes even more complicated care services and not only primary care as it was in the olden days. Outpatient care can be defined as health care services provided within an institution and does not necessarily require an overnight stay in the healthcare facility. Outpatient and ambulatory care services have been used interchangeably but in reality, they mean different things. While the outpatient care system does not require overnight stay within the hospital, ambulatory healthcare services refer to healthcare services offered to a patient who arrived within the hospital walking by him/herself. Healthcare delivery has currently shifted from an expensive stay in the hospital due to a number of reasons including technological advances in medical science.
What are several key changes that have been instrumental in shifting the balance between inpatient and outpatient services?
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Many hospitals, due to economic reasons, are currently shifting from inpatient healthcare to outpatient care (Bahadori, Teymourzadeh, Ravangard, & Raadabadi, 2017). Healthcare facilities have become the dominant players in outpatient care in addition to inpatient care delivery often when to recover lost revenues. A number of key changes have led to shifting from inpatient to outpatient care services.
Financial Incentives
The government programs, as well as several health plans, have developed payment programs that support care provision in lower-cost care settings including facilities that provide on outpatient services. Additionally, there have been increased partnerships between health systems and physicians which may result in reduced care costs hence further drives the volume in outpatient care cases.
Technological advances in medical science
Technologically, medical diagnostic and treatment procedures have improved favoring the provision of outpatient care services. New diagnostic and therapeutic procedures have favored outpatient services delivery. This has led to some treatments which required hospital stay to be provided on an outpatient basis in the modern days.
Application of control factors to reduce the length of hospital stay
Many payers have currently discouraged inpatient stay and therefore, inpatient admission has been closely followed with the aim of lessening the duration of inpatient stay.
Patient preferences and social factors have favored an outpatient stay.
Many patients prefer not to be hospitalized unless it necessary and as a result, they prefer receiving healthcare from home-based care settings. Studies show that patient feel secured and independently in control of their lives especially when they remain in their homes.
How do outpatient services support the continuity of care in the delivery of health services?
The outpatient care system has led to the continuity of healthcare services in a number of ways. Due to increased outpatient care services, many home care agencies have become freestanding and nursing home-based facilities expanding healthcare accessibility(Shi & Singh, 2019). Many freestanding healthcare facilities such as walk-in clinics have been developed in the United States as a means of providing a variety of care services ranging from primary care to urgent care.
The formation of outpatient clinics has enabled the provision of primary care to both insured and uninsured patients. Additionally, outpatient services function as an additional source of revenue for many healthcare facilities. due to increased income, these facilities are capable of funding a more advanced care system and patients will continue to receive high-quality care healthcare services.
Why is it important for hospital administrators to regard outpatient care as a key component of their overall business strategy?
Hospital administrators should regard outpatient healthcare as a key business strategy. Outpatient care in a number of ways demonstrates crucial business strategies within a healthcare system. the outpatient system provides a way through which healthcare workers inculcate their clients within the institution. Outpatient services increase the utilization of resources for instance, in the case of referrals of physicians. Through, referrals the quality of life of the patients is increased as well alongside increasing the revenues of particular health facilities (Bahadori et al., 2017). Satisfactory outpatient services increase the branding integrity of an institution as well as creating loyalty among the patients.
References
Bahadori, M., Teymourzadeh, E., Ravangard, R., & Raadabadi, M. (2017). Factors affecting the overcrowding in outpatient healthcare. Journal of Education and Health Promotion , 6 (1), 21. https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.204742
Gold, M. (2018). The demand for hospital outpatient services. Health Services Research , 19 (3), 383–412. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6378832
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2019). Essentials of The U . S . Health Care System 5 th edition.
