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Home > Glossary > outpatient hospital care

outpatient hospital care

What is outpatient hospital care?

Outpatient Hospital Care infographic

What is outpatient hospital care?

Hospitals can provide both inpatient and outpatient care. Outpatient hospital care is either provided without the patient staying overnight, or with the patient staying overnight but under observation rather than as an inpatient.

What types of care are provided by outpatient hospital care?

Outpatient hospital care encompasses any ambulatory care that a hospital provides, including emergency room care, dialysis, surgery that doesn’t require an overnight admission, blood transfusions, X-rays or other imaging services. etc. Even if a patient spends the night in the hospital, they might be under observation, which is an outpatient status. Unless the patient is admitted for inpatient care, any care received in a hospital is outpatient care.

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