Often times we hear on the radio that a new outpatient surgery will be able to get us home and back to work within a day, and as exciting as that turnover sounds, many don’t fully understand the benefits of outpatient surgeries (one of which being low downtime). What is the difference between Inpatient vs Outpatient services, anyways?

Inpatient vs Outpatient is all about the “Patient”

Imagine if the words “in” and “out” are prefixes such as “pre” and “post”, where they come before a particular word to indicate a meaning. Break the word Inpatient to “in” and “patient”, and Outpatient to “out” and “patient”, and the meanings will become very clear (also, it is a good way to remember the definitions!). Inpatient services are those that require the patient to stay “in” (being admitted to a hospital) for some length of time, while Outpatient is when the patient is “out” (normally, they are not admitted unless there is a complication) and free to go home after the surgery or service takes place. So, inpatient is when the patient stays in, and outpatient is where the patient goes out of the hospital. Now go ask your friends and see if they know the difference.

Is Inpatient better than Outpatient?

I have been asked this question before, and for the sake of information, I will answer it hear. Both surgeries are surgeries; the only real difference is if technology can actually provide our medical professionals the ability to have an outpatient surgery. Some surgeries take more time than others and have more downtime than others, and depending on the reason for surgery, the physician will ask for the individual to stay overnight to make sure complications don’t arise. There once was a time where surgeries were extremely invasive and large portions of the body had to be opened to access certain points, but now, certain surgeries can be done with very minimal openings (sometimes it is just a few small holes around the focused area) meaning that outpatient surgeries are becoming more popular. Inpatient is not better than Outpatient, and Outpatient is not better than Inpatient, however, if you have the choice between the two then you should speak to your doctor(s) to see why one is outpatient and the other, not.

Broker Tip: Whenever seeking surgeries of any kind make sure to go to a professional doctor that works in a professional hospital. Also, do some research beforehand and find out if all of the services, hospitals, and physicians that will be needed for the surgery are contracted under your health insurance plan. Also, if you have a PPO, remember that you can be balanced billed if you go out-of-network!

I hope this post was information and you now have the knowledge of what an Inpatient service is, and an Outpatient. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

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