Ambulatory Care

Ambulatory Care

Introduction

Ambulatory care is one of the forms of medical care that offer to those patients, who do not require a need to be admitted in a hospital for treatment purpose. The kind of treatments and procedures rendered in ambulatory care are occasionally denoted to as “outpatient care.” Most of the hospitals offer ambulatory care in their emergency rooms for those patients, who can be treated without admitting them into hospitals, for example a child with a simple broken arm. Optometrist's offices, immediate care clinics and doctor's offices also offer ambulatory care. The patient's medical treatment of these cases treatment does not require hospitalization.

Discussion Analysis

It has been observed that most of the chronic conditions can be dealt with normal ambulatory care appointments, for instance when an asthma patient attends doctor for a checkup. Ambulatory care can be also utilized by basic diagnostic tools including x-rays, some biopsies, ultrasounds and blood samples for managing a medical consideration. Majority of the procedures can be executed on an outpatient basis as well. For instance, pregnant women have number of ambulatory care appointments for their prenatal care plan and for monitoring the progress of the pregnancy. These appointments can include amniocentesis, ultrasound scans and other diagnostic tools and procedures. Ambulatory care for patients tends to be preferable, because majority of the people avoid spending time in the premises of hospital. This level of care on can also be considerably less expensive, and it can be concerned for some people. It has been observed that most of the hospitals encourage patients to consider outpatient care, for cutting down on overall operating expenses (American Health Lawyers Association, 2002).

Under the settings of ambulatory care, broader kind of medical professional including doctors, paramedics, medical technicians and nurses can work. Moreover, for treating patients on site, they can offer recommendations for patients, who can benefit from treatment elsewhere, along with admissions of hospital in cases where they are justified. For example, a pediatrician would refer a child to the hospital for the serious treatment purpose, if a regular blood draw showed that the child experienced leukemia. In dealing specific types of medical consideration, some ambulatory care facilities specialize in different discipline. For example, a health center might give radiation and chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients, physical therapy or dental care for people improving from accidents (www.jointcommission.org). The offered services can usually be found in a clinical complex or near to a hospital, which serves large number of patients from their various facilities.

Accredited Standards

The standards of Joint Commission deal with the organizations of ambulatory care performance in certain areas, and particular requirements for ensuring that the care is providing to the patient is safe and secure. The Joint Commission formulates its principles in consultation with health care providers, researchers and experts, as well as consumers and purchasers. The areas of standards based performance for the organizations of ambulatory care are as follows:

Careful environment

Human Resources

Infection Prevention and Control

Emergency Management

Performance Improvement

Leadership

Provision of Care, Treatment and Services

National Patient Safety Goals

Life Safety

Waived ...