Free Custom «Ambulatory Care Services» Essay Paper

There are a number of services that are incorporated with ambulatory care services. They include dental services, minor surgical and medical procedures, and diagnostic procedures such as X-rays, biopsy procedures and blood tests. There are many others like dermatological services, consultation, rehabilitation and emergency visits, among many others.

Evolution of Ambulatory Care

Initially, hospital was the main center of medical and health care services mostly for poor individuals within societies. With the growing needs of personalized services and advancement of technology, ambulatory care services have become the norm. Expansion of health care services has encouraged and propelled concept of ambulatory care system. People are moving away from the traditional hospital modalities of queuing for medical and health care services. Nowadays, people are opting for personal appointments for checkups and other services. The aspect of personal clinics within the health care system is also another boost to ambulatory services.

Effect of Managed Care on Ambulatory Services

Managed care is an initiative of the government and other players to reduce unnecessary health care costs. This is usually intended to ensure that medication is affordable for the middle class and other underprivileged persons. Consequently, the organization of ambulatory care is such that quality of service and highly personalized services take center stage. Legislation for managed care is to encourage ambulatory care for some services meant to prevent chronic illnesses that are usually costly. Health care institutions are targeting more of outpatients than inpatients.

Managerial Attributes to Enhance Ambulatory Care

There are managerial measures that must be in place to enhance ambulatory care. There should be proper coordination between ambulatory care and inpatient services. Besides, diagnostic and treatment should be organized comprehensively to establish outpatient and inpatient cases. Importantly, there is the need to strengthen management capacity at primary care levels using a team approach in decision making in respect of any health care issue.

Challenges of Ambulatory Care

There are several challenges that ambulatory care is likely to encounter in the near future. There are growing numbers of outpatient cases in almost all health care units. Management tasks are going to be tough and complicated requiring restructuring and devising of new policies. Additionally, increase prescription medication and complex medical procedures require coordination among various specialists.