post 3hospital emergency departments continue H u m a n i t i e s

Based on the information provided to you in Chapter 4 of your textbook, you are to discuss one of the following

1. Identify the major factors that have resulted in the shift in utilization from inpatient hospitalization to ambulatory care services. What are the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole?
2. Almost two-thirds of all surgical procedures are now performed in ambulatory surgery facilities. Discuss the reasons for this shift of surgery from the inpatient setting and its effect on hospitals and consumers.
3. Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically under served population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care.

Reply to the following posts, 70 words minimum each post.

Post 1

Identify the main factors that have resulted in the change in utilization from inpatient to outpatient services. What are the implications of this change for hospitals, consumers, and the health service delivery system as a whole?

This change was positive for hospitals, consumers and the health service system. For some hospitals, converting inpatient units into outpatient surgical facilities within the hospital provided a cost-effective means, as hospitals expanded their service networks to include stand-alone ambulatory care facilities in all of their service areas, for diagnostic and treatment, as well as for surgical services.

Two factors influenced this change. First, the convenient costs is the factor that propelled the consumer to the ambulatory care facilities in the health system; easily accessible facilities and services that is convenient, and a shorter visit that patients desire.

Ambulatory care units can be built in locations that are significantly less expensive to operate than hospitals. Also, advances in technology allow outpatient facilities to provide coordinated treatment regimens.

Second, another factor is competition, hospitals can now compete with other healthcare organizations by adding outpatient services, which is less expensive than making capital investments in hospitals.

Outpatient services are beneficial to hospitals, physicians, and consumers because the severity of injury or risk of death can be minimized. Ambulatory care is one of the fastest growing and highest margin segments of the healthcare industry.

In this pandemic, the continued rise of COVID-19, hospital capacity in many US states has been heavily taxed, with inpatient beds in full or near full occupancy in several areas worst hit. This pressure has increased the important role that care can and does play in the healthcare landscape by providing an alternative venue for necessary procedures.

While COVID-19 has accelerated interest in outpatient care, this change began long before the pandemic

Post 2

1. Identify the major factors that have resulted in the shift in utilization from inpatient hospitalization to ambulatory care services. What are the implications of this shift for hospitals, consumers, and the health care delivery system as a whole?

However practical and easy access ambulatory centers can provide, they also are significantly less equipped than hospitals, as well as provide shorter visit lengths than some patients would like to receive. Therefore, ambulatory centers can provide quicker care, but can sometimes provide less quality in terms of care, treatment planning and time availability. These shifts can negatively impact job opportunities and also hinder thorough visits and treatment for patients in need. However, it allows a bigger amount of the population to be provided medical attention in a timely manner, as well as shortens unnecessarily lengthy visits for those patients who require specific procedures or revisions done.

In terms of the hospitals, they can become more competitive regarding other healthcare organizations by adding ambulatory services, reducing the cost of making capital investments in new hospitals or services within existing hospitals. Also, partnering with professionals that perform procedures in ambulatory care facilities can provide referrals for the hospital, increasing their business and therefore, increasing their profit. In my opinion, it’s a matter of considering pros and cons in order to have an objective perspective of why this is occurring in our health system.

Post 3

1. Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically under served population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care?

Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by many of the under served populations for many reasons. One reason is because since state and federal regulations forbid them to turn away anyone without a proper medical assessment, patients know that they will be seen and therefore a source of stable care. They trust a hospitals emergency room as oppose to an urgent care they that they may not be knowledgeable or educated about. They may also feel that other places may turn them away or make them pay if they do not have insurance coverage. Because so many people still go directly to emergency rooms instead of alternative centers, waiting times are becoming longer and patients that truly need to be scene sooner are having to wait longer as well.

With many of the emergency rooms population coming from the community’s under served, many if not the majority of those people do not have health insurance and therefore cannot even afford to pay their medical bills after being seen. This makes the cost of care more expensive I feel in the long run for those that do have insurance. The quality of care also than suffers for those with health insurance. I know for me personally, it is cheaper to go to an urgent care than to go to an emergency room. My out of pocket cost for an urgent care is only $25.00 as oppose to an emergency room which is $100.00. So unless I truly have to go to an emergency room, I avoid it as best possible.