Introduction
At the present stage of the development of medicine and health services, patients are given the right to make their own decisions about what type of care they want to receive in the hospital. Thus, the concepts of inpatient and outpatient care arose, which depend on the patient’s condition and the severity of the disease or the conditions with which the person was admitted. It is worth noting that in the selection process, the result is mainly based not only on the opinion of the patient but also on the professional point of view of the attending medical specialist. Therefore, analysis of the benefits and challenges of inpatient and outpatient services can help determine which way of health care delivery is more suitable for particular cases.
Benefits and Challenges of Inpatient and Outpatient Services
For this reason, this scientific paper will first consider the advantages of inpatient and outpatient care. The first type of provision of medical services implies cases when the patient remains in the hospital to undergo the necessary treatment (Yetmar et al., 2020). One of the main advantages of this type of service is increased attention to the patient from the medical staff. This aspect includes constant verification of the individual’s condition, certification of timely medication intake, or provision of urgent assistance in emergency cases. This advantage also applies to the rehabilitation period since, in this case, doctors and nurses can fully make sure that the patient can leave the healthcare facility with minimal possibility of any risks. In addition, inpatient services provide an opportunity to receive medical operations using the latest technologies and achievements in this field (Varghese et al., 2018). This allows healthcare employees to accelerate the process of treatment and rehabilitation, which will not be as fast and effective at home.
One of the main inconveniences that may arise when choosing inpatient healthcare services may be time-consuming. So, in this case, patients have to take time off from work or study, which can cause difficulties. Moreover, among the disadvantages of inpatient services the deterioration of the psychological state can be highlighted. Many patients may experience a mental decline due to the fact that they feel uncomfortable in a hospital setting and cannot stay away from their families for a long time. One of the most significant differences and challenges of inpatient care in relation to outpatient one is the cost. Staying in a hospital can cost individuals a reasonably large amount, so many make a choice to leave a medical institution to be treated at home.
Having considered the advantages and disadvantages of inpatient care, it is worth moving on to an alternative to this method, which is outpatient services of health care. A relatively large number of services fall under this type, which ranges from a blood test to an X-ray. In other words, outpatient care implies those services that do not require staying in a hospital (Levine et al., 2019). The central positive aspect of this type of treatment is the small costs that are required to receive the help of medical specialists. Moreover, unlike the impatient type of services, when refusing to stay in a medical institution, people get more opportunities to perform their everyday actions; that is, they retain their mobility. In addition, patients do not experience psychological problems due to separation from relatives and friends.
Despite these advantages, outpatient services also have specific challenges that can affect the choice of inpatient care. Hence, among them, it is essential to mention that individuals do not receive the same amount of attention and monitoring from healthcare professionals. In this case, they can only do with periodic check-ups, which may cause a longer duration of treatment and no guarantee that negative consequences will not occur. Additionally, while maintaining mobility and mental well-being, outpatient care can pose specific challenges for the family and loved ones of the patient. Hence, in some cases, these people have to take leave from their place of work or study to provide adequate care and treatment to a sick family member. Further, in the absence of complications for the individual himself, people around can experience them, which distinguishes outpatient care from inpatient.
One important aspect worth mentioning is the fact that inpatient and outpatient health services are interconnected. Consequently, after getting a job inside the hospital, all patients switch to the outpatient type. This is due to the fact that at this stage, the treatment received is fixed in the hospital, and the patient’s welfare is checked. Thus, despite their differences, the studied types of services support each other and help find effective medical care results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this research work provided information and analyzed the positive and negative features of two types of medical services, inpatient and outpatient. Therefore, the main areas in which positive and negative aspects were highlighted are cost, psychological state, mobility and flexibility, and the level of attention and quality of services from health care workers. Thus, the choice between the type of care depends directly on the patients because inpatient and outpatient have unique characteristics that help to make it.
References
Levine, D. M., Landon, B. E., & Linder, J. A. (2019). Quality and experience of outpatient care in the United States for adults with or without primary care.JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(3), 363-372.
Varghese, J., Kleine, M., Gessner, S. I., Sandmann, S., & Dugas, M. (2018). Effects of computerized decision support system implementations on patient outcomes in inpatient care: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 25(5), 593-602.
Yetmar, Z. A., Issa, M., Munawar, S., Burton, M. C., Pureza, V., Sohail, M. R., & Mehmood, T. (2020). Inpatient care of patients with COVID-19: a guide for hospitalists.The American Journal of Medicine, 133(9), 1019-1024.