Ambulatory care

Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and procedures even when provided outside of hospitals.^{[excessive citations]}

Ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) are health conditions where appropriate ambulatory care prevents or reduces the need for hospital admission (or inpatient care), such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Many medical investigations and treatments for acute and chronic illnesses and preventive health care can be performed on an ambulatory basis, including minor surgical and medical procedures, most types of dental services, dermatology services, and many types of diagnostic procedures (e.g. blood tests, X-rays, endoscopy and biopsy procedures of superficial organs). Other types of ambulatory care services include emergency visits, rehabilitation visits, and in some cases telephone consultations.

Ambulatory care services represent the most significant contributor to increasing hospital expenditures and to the performance of the health care system in most countries, including most developing countries.

Health care organizations use different ways to define the nature of care provided as "ambulatory" versus inpatient or other types of care.^{[excessive citations]}

Sites where ambulatory care can be delivered include:

Ambulatory care services typically consist of a multidisciplinary team of health professionals that may include (but is not limited to) physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists, and other allied health professionals.

Given the growth of ambulatory medicine, it has become a significant component of education for medical trainees across various specialties. Over the past decades, internal medicine residency programs across North America have made efforts to incorporate more ambulatory training to the medical education curriculum. The ambulatory medical training is focused on patient management through multidisciplinary teamwork while creating longitudinal continuity in patient care.