WHAT ARE ANCILLARY SERVICES?

A patient’s treatment plan doesn’t end as soon as they are out of the hospital. Post-care treatment at home not only simplifies the patient’s life but also supplements exclusive healthcare services. It improves operational efficiency and also offers an opportunity for the patients to heal at home.

That’s where ancillary medical services come. They include supportive therapies and specialized diagnostic services that complement a patient’s medical care along with their primary care doctor on the way. This system is effective and becoming quite popular in the healthcare industry.

Here are three categories of ancillary services in healthcare:

• Diagnostic Services
• Therapeutic Services
• Custodial Services

The above services can also be in-house but preferably outsourced to external facilities for faster and accurate results. For instance, professionals can run lab tests within hospitals, but most physicians prefer specialized departments.

Although, it is lucrative and requires excellent management in case of high patient volume. Anything exclusive of room and board cost or direct care by the physician or nurse includes ancillary services.

Diagnostic Services

Diagnostic Services include laboratory tests (urinalysis, blood test), genetic testing, radiology (CT scans, X-rays, ultrasound, and MRI scans) to help further diagnose a person. It is taken care of in a secure environment. It also functions in ambulatory care, acute care, mental health, senior citizen care, and rehabilitation. Ancillary services do not require primary physicians’ money and time.

Therapeutic Services

As diagnostic care focuses on various supplies and tests that are short-term, therapeutic services, the long-term treatment refers to rehabilitative care to occupational and physical therapies that enhance the overall health and well-being of the patient.

Some regular therapeutic services include language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, physical therapy, massages, and chiropractic services to comfort and fulfill a patient’s physical and emotional needs. It is a secondary line of medical treatment where the physicians are not often required and practiced by allied health professionals.

Custodial Services

Custodial service is a type of support service to keep patients independent with their day-to-day needs. Custodial service is the longest-term ancillary service to provide solutions from in-home personal care like walking, changing clothes, eating, toilet, and bathing.

They are also known as care-delivery services for patients with specific mental, physical, and medical conditions. The range of scope allows the patient to help in the crisis, such as hospice care, home healthcare, nursing facilities, and rehabilitation facilities.

For a healthcare professional, it is challenging and costly to manage multiple tasks. That is why the comprehensive range of ancillary providers supports the core processes and helps the patients after their hospital stays.

Benefits of Ancillary Services

• For better health, recovery, and stability of the patients, ancillary services lessen the gap, as they cannot operate independently.
• A Patient’s quality of life gets improved by offering them an essential helping hand with excellent quality care.
• It saves operational costs and enables you to expand your patient base.