Response 1
Indeed the outpatient care involves those medical procedures that do not require one to be
admitted, and one can be treated away from the premises of the hospital. Most of the hospitals
are shifting g most of their services to the outpatient especially because of the advancement in
technology and the external pressure based on the social utility. There has been a creation of
faster and effective medical technology which has helped to reduce the duration of the patient
stay in the hospital. Most of the follow up on the treatment is done through appointments. It is
more useful to carry out some surgical and therapeutic procedures on a patient without having to
admit them formally in the hospital premises (Chernew et al, 2014). The other factor accounting
for the shift from the inpatient to outpatient care is the reimbursement. Mostly, the cost of
outpatient care is less compared to the inpatient. In this regard, the insurance cover providers are
likely to reimburse the outpatients than the inpatients. Most of the insurance companies are
advocating for the people to embrace outpatients care services except under exceptional cases. It
is also good to acknowledge that the outpatients' case has made the health services readily
available and people can seek preventive services before they get critically ill. This in return has
reduced the overall cost incurred by the patients in finding healthcare services.
The outpatient care requires the collaboration of all the stakeholders in the hospital set up.
However, it is easy to operate outpatient care within a hospital. What is needed mainly are the
professional healthcare practitioners and a few support staff to be able to operate effectively.
Even with a small group of staff outpatient care can be easily managed (Abell et al, 2016). The
implications are that the hospitals can be able to attend to many patients with the existing
resources. Furthermore, resources can be availed to attend to more complicated treatment
required which may be needed for the inpatients' patients.
The hospital administrators are using the outpatient care as a strategy of generating more income.
First, the shift to the outpatient care has reduced the cost incurred by the hospitals when taking
care of the patients. On the other hand, the patients pay more as they seek to make a follow up
with the doctors through appointments. In most cases, every visit to the hospital by the patients
attracts an additional cost paid to the hospital. Further, it is also being used to ensure that the
hospital increases the number of patients it is offering care to and enhancing the ability of the
hospitals to attend to referral cases which is a way of remembering and helping the weak as
stated in the book of Acts 20:35 (ESV).
References
McWilliams, J. M., Chernew, M. E., Dalton, J. B., & Landon, B. E. (2014). Outpatient care
patterns and organizational accountability in Medicare. JAMA internal medicine, 174(6), 938-
945.
Bingham, J., Abell, G., Kienast, L., Lerner, L., Matuschek, B., Mullins, W., ... & Young, E.
(2016). Health care worker hand contamination at critical moments in outpatient care settings.
American journal of infection control, 44(11), 1198-1202.
Response 2
Outpatient care is a more inclusive term used to refer to the services offered that do not require
formal admission of the patient. This is ones of the strategies taken by the hospitals to improve
the reimbursement system, enhance the attendance to referral cases and to increase the level of
income in hospitals. The cost of inpatients care is high primarily because of the extended stay in
the hospital compared to the outpatient care. Most of the payment systems are more willing to
reimburse the outpatients more than they are willing to the inpatients. Further, concerning the
cost, when a patient is admitted for a log, the hospital end up losing more than it is gaining. In
this regard, the discharge of the patient after a short time is followed by the outpatient care
concerning the home health care or follow up care to maintain the health and continuity of the
care (Zacharias, & Armony, 2016). In essence, the hospitals tend to gain a lot of money from
this services, and this accounts for the high growth in the outpatient care.
The growth in the outpatient care services can be attributed to the desire by the hospitals to make
their services affordable to many patients. Under the inpatient care, most of the patients were
struggling to pay their medical bills even those with the insurance cover. Therefore, with the
shift to the outpatient care, most insurance companies can provide health covers which are
accessible and affordable to many people (Altman et al,2017). Most patients can access the
health services while the hospitals can make more profit. Additionally, most people are now
willing and able to seek health services hence reducing the progress of the illness and diseases
among the people. The heath of the population has consequently improved as a result of the
growth of the outpatient care.
The focus on the outpatient care has been enhanced by the technological advancement where
some procedures do not require one to be admitted to the hospital. The healthcare providers are
now able to make decisions on the patient care fast and effectively. This has improved the
quality of the healthcare services provided hence reducing the cases of patient readmission to the
hospitals.
The outpatient care has helped to reduce the cost of medical care to the patients. Through this
strategy, most patients can access affordable health care through their insurance providers.
Further, from a biblical point of view, the approach is critical because it focuses on maximizing
the access of health care services following the spirit of Jeremiah 33:6 where God promises
health and healing. In this regard, the healthcare providers should prioritize the provision of
services rather than profitability. However, with the growth of the outpatient services, the
hospitals can maximize the provision of services to the patients while at the same time making
money.
References
Zacharias, C., & Armony, M. (2016). Joint panel sizing and appointment scheduling in
outpatient care. Management Science, 63(11), 3978-3997.
Khodyakov, D., Stockdale, S. E., Smith, N., Booth, M., Altman, L., & Rubenstein, L. V. (2017).
Patient engagement in the process of planning and designing outpatient care improvements at the
Veterans Administration Health‐care System: findings from an online expert panel. Health
Expectations, 20(1), 130-145.
