What Is Ambulatory Care? Settings, Services & Examples

What is ambulatory care?

Ambulatory care is healthcare delivered in an outpatient setting without admitting the patient as an inpatient. It includes routine visits, diagnostic services, treatment, rehabilitation, and some procedures. A patient may receive ambulatory care in a physician’s office, clinic, hospital outpatient department, ambulatory surgery center, or another outpatient facility. The defining idea is the care setting and admission status—not whether the patient can walk or whether the building is part of a hospital.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) describes ambulatory care as care provided by health professionals in outpatient settings, including medical offices and clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, hospital outpatient departments, and dialysis centers. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) similarly uses the term for services provided on an outpatient basis without admission to a hospital or other facility.

Ambulatory care is broader than an ambulatory surgery center

“Ambulatory care” is an umbrella term for many kinds of outpatient healthcare. An ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is one specific type of facility focused on surgical services. The terms are related, but they are not interchangeable: a primary care visit is ambulatory care, for example, but it does not take place in an ASC.

For Medicare certification, CMS defines an ASC as a distinct entity that operates exclusively to provide surgical services to patients who do not require hospitalization, with the expected duration of services not exceeding 24 hours after admission. That is a specific regulatory definition for ASCs; it should not be applied to every outpatient clinic or visit. See CMS’s ASC overview.

Common ambulatory care settings

Physician offices and community clinics

These settings provide primary and specialty visits, preventive services, follow-up appointments, and care for many ongoing conditions. Community health centers may offer a wider mix of medical, dental, behavioral health, and support services. Services and eligibility vary by clinic.

Hospital outpatient departments

A hospital can provide outpatient care without admitting the patient as an inpatient. Examples include specialist appointments, diagnostic testing, infusion services, and same-day procedures. Being treated inside a hospital building does not by itself mean the person has inpatient status.

Ambulatory surgery centers

ASCs provide selected surgical and procedural services in an outpatient setting. Whether a procedure is appropriate for an ASC depends on the patient, the procedure, facility capabilities, and applicable clinical and regulatory requirements. Patients should discuss site-of-care decisions with their care team.

Diagnostic, dialysis, rehabilitation, and other outpatient facilities

Outpatient settings also include diagnostic and testing facilities, dialysis centers, rehabilitation services, and other specialty clinics. AHRQ’s overview includes several of these settings and emphasizes the coordination required when a person receives care across multiple locations.

Telehealth can support outpatient care, but it is a way of delivering a visit rather than a physical facility. Availability, covered services, and clinical suitability depend on the service and the patient’s circumstances.

What services are part of ambulatory care?

There is no single checklist that applies to every ambulatory setting. Common services include:

Preventive visits, screenings, and vaccinations.
Primary and specialty consultations.
Laboratory tests, imaging, and other diagnostic services.
Management of chronic conditions and medication follow-up.
Rehabilitation and other therapy services.
Selected procedures and surgeries that can be performed without an inpatient stay.
Behavioral health, dialysis, and other specialty outpatient services.

The exact services depend on the organization, clinician, patient needs, and local rules. For example, CMS’s Place of Service code set distinguishes an office, an on-campus outpatient hospital, and an ASC as separate locations for reporting professional services. The code set is useful for understanding settings, but it is not a substitute for coverage or clinical guidance.

Ambulatory care vs. inpatient care

The practical difference is whether the patient is admitted as an inpatient or receives care without an inpatient admission. Outpatient services may be scheduled, urgent, diagnostic, or procedural. Inpatient care involves a formal hospital admission for care that requires that level of monitoring or treatment. A patient’s status is determined by the hospital and payer rules—not just by how long the person stays in a building.

Emergency care is a separate kind of service. A hospital emergency department may evaluate and treat someone who is not admitted, or the visit may lead to an inpatient admission. Urgent care clinics generally handle time-sensitive needs that do not require an emergency department, but people with severe or life-threatening symptoms should use emergency services.

Why ambulatory care matters to patients and practices

Outpatient care can make appropriate services available without an inpatient stay and can support follow-up closer to where people live and work. However, convenience, access, outcomes, and cost are not guaranteed by the setting alone. They depend on the service, the patient’s needs, local availability, insurance coverage, and coordination between care teams. Avoid comparing costs without specifying the service, payer, location, and date.

For practices, ambulatory care creates operational work across the full visit: scheduling, intake, documentation, orders, results, referrals, billing, and follow-up. When patients receive care across multiple settings, teams also need reliable ways to share relevant information and close the loop on test results and next steps. AHRQ notes that safe outpatient care requires complex information management and coordination across settings, particularly for people with chronic illnesses.

How health information technology supports outpatient workflows

Electronic health record and practice-management tools can help a team organize schedules, record encounters, manage orders and results, and track follow-up tasks. The software does not replace clinical judgment or guarantee better outcomes. Its value depends on how well the tools fit the practice’s workflows, how accurately information is entered, how staff are trained, and how the organization manages access and privacy.

When evaluating a system, practices can map a typical patient journey first: appointment request, registration, visit, documentation, orders, billing, and follow-up. Then compare vendors against the clinic’s actual specialty, staffing, reporting, interoperability, and compliance needs. This keeps the evaluation focused on operational fit instead of a long feature checklist. For surgery centers, Ambula’s surgery center EMR covers pre-op, intra-op, and post-op charting.

Frequently asked questions

Does ambulatory care mean the patient can walk?

No. In healthcare, “ambulatory care” generally refers to outpatient services. It does not mean that every patient must be able to walk independently.

Is outpatient care the same as ambulatory care?

The terms are often used similarly to describe care that does not involve an inpatient admission. Exact definitions can vary by program, payer, or reporting context, so use the definition relevant to the service being discussed.

Can ambulatory care happen in a hospital?

Yes. Hospital outpatient departments provide ambulatory services. The facility’s location and the patient’s inpatient or outpatient status are separate questions.

Is an ASC the same as an outpatient hospital department?

No. Both can provide outpatient services, but they are distinct facility types with different operational and regulatory requirements. CMS describes the ASC requirements separately from hospital outpatient services.