Outpatient treatment is a convenient treatment option for both the patient and the public health system. Currently, for most diseases that do not require too serious therapeutic or specialized intervention, this type of care is used.
What does outpatient care mean?
It is a medical care system in which the patient undergoes almost all necessary therapeutic measures at home or in a clinic. At the same time, he buys medicines at his own expense (except when the drugs are provided free of charge, for example, with bronchial asthma).
Today, the vast majority of diseases that do not cause serious disturbances in the patient’s body activity are treated on an outpatient basis. The inpatient care option is recommended in more complex situations, for specialized treatment measures or for conditions that directly threaten the patient’s life and / or health.
Benefits
This option of medical care has several advantages:
- The patient does not have to be permanently in a healthcare facility.
- An outpatient treatment regimen is a therapy that can be taken without breaking away from doing household chores, and sometimes from work duties.
- For public health, this option is the most cost-effective.
Thanks to all these advantages, every year they try to use the outpatient regimen more often to treat patients.
disadvantages
There are certain disadvantages to this approach to the treatment of diseases. The main ones are the following:
- The patient is not under the constant supervision of medical personnel.
- The patient has to pay in full for all medicines.
Due to the presence of these shortcomings, the treatment of severe pathology does not imply the use of an outpatient regimen. The stationary version of therapy in this case is much more suitable.
What pathologies are most often treated on an outpatient basis?
There are a large number of diseases for which an outpatient treatment regimen is the most rational. Most often, patients in clinics are thus treated for:
- acute respiratory infections;
- arterial hypertension outside of hypertensive crises;
- bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without exacerbation;
- chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer of the stomach and / or intestine without complications;
- coronary heart disease;
- chronic pyelonephritis;
- discirculatory encephalopathy;
- most diseases of the dental profile;
- acute and chronic sinusitis.
All these diseases are quite common, and in most cases they can be treated without hospitalization in a hospital.
Outpatient Disorders
Non-compliance by the patient with the recommendations of the doctor during treatment at home or in the clinic is very, very common. Even in Western European countries, where people are very sensitive to the issues of maintaining their health, only 30% of patients fully adhere to those attitudes given by the specialist.
Currently, not so many outpatient violations are officially registered, despite the significant prevalence of this phenomenon.This is due to the fact that doctors usually feel sorry for patients and do not make appropriate marks in medical records, and especially in temporary disability sheets. If they contain indications of a violation of the regime to the patient, monetary compensation from the employer may not be reimbursed at all, or significantly reduced.
Timely reporting of a patient's violation of the outpatient treatment regimen is the right way for the doctor, as:
- Helps discipline a patient.
- Increases patient adherence to treatment.
- Reduces temporary disability.
- Reduces the likelihood of chronic pathological process.
- Reduces government spending on payments for temporary disability sheets.
Currently, the correct filling of documentation by doctors is monitored not only by their direct supervisors, but also by specialists of insurance companies.
When should a patient be hospitalized?
Despite the large number of advantages of an outpatient treatment regimen, there are a number of cases when a patient needs to be transferred under the constant supervision of medical personnel to an in-patient healthcare facility.
The main indication for hospitalization is a situation where the patient's condition is assessed as moderate, severe or extremely severe. This can be observed both with an acute pathology and with an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
Also, the indication for transferring a patient from an outpatient to a stationary one is the need for a comprehensive examination using high-tech diagnostic methods. This can significantly reduce the time spent on identifying pathology and establishing an accurate diagnosis. Currently, some patients are also hospitalized for necessary measures before undergoing a medical and social expert commission. Hospitalization in a specialized hospital in this case allows you to set the most accurate diagnosis necessary to make an informed commission decision in the future.