Ambulatory care describes health care services that are provided to patients who are not inpatient nor bedridden. In fact, the very definition of the word “ambulatory” describes someone who is capable of walking and not bedridden. Medical care can include obtaining a diagnosis, observation, treatment, and rehabilitation if care is provided on an outpatient basis and does not involve a hospital stay. Thus, ambulatory care encompasses any care that does not involve inpatient treatment in a hospital or medical facility.
Types of Ambulatory Care
Ambulatory care can be divided into two major categories. The first category includes care provided by physicians. The second category involves care that is organized and provided in medical institution.
The care provided by physicians can be provided by a solo practitioner, individual physicians who have organized themselves into a partnership, or physicians who participate in a group practice. There are many different types of physicians that...
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Johnson, B.L. (2012). Ambulatory Care. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_36
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