Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Medical observation is a medical service aimed at continued care of selected patients, usually for a period of 6 to 24 (sometimes more) hours, to determine their need for inpatient admission. This service is usually provided in emergency departments.
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.
The term "secondary care" is sometimes used synonymously with "hospital care". However, many secondary care providers, such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, most dental specialties or physiotherapists, do not necessarily work in hospitals. Some primary care services are delivered within hospitals.
A primary source can have all of these qualities, and a secondary source may have none of them. Deciding whether primary, secondary or tertiary sources are appropriate on any given occasion is a matter of good editorial judgment and common sense, not merely mindless, knee-jerk reactions to classification of a source as "primary" or "secondary".
Secondary data refers to data that is collected by someone other than the primary user. [1] Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses , information collected by government departments, organizational records and data that was originally collected for other research purposes. [ 2 ]
Secondary hospitals typically serve as a bridge between primary care and tertiary hospitals, which offer highly specialized treatment. They are usually equipped to handle more complex medical conditions than primary centers, often including departments for surgery, general medicine, obstetrics , pediatrics , and emergency care .
Usually, patients in observation, according to hospital policy, are kept in observation for only 24 or 48 hours before they will be discharged or admitted as an inpatient. Insurance can play a role in how "observation" is defined (for example, US Medicare does not support observation services for over 48 hours). [16]
The term primary care in the UK may also include services provided by community pharmacy, optometrist, dental surgery and community hearing care providers. The balance of care between primary care and secondary care - which usually refers to hospital-based services - varies from place to place, and with time.