Module 2 Case Assignment

INPATIENT, OUTPATIENT, AND ANCILLARY SERVICES

Assignment Overview

At some point in your professional career, you may work within or alongside inpatient and outpatient settings. Working in these settings can be similar to working in two completely different health care worlds. What exactly are the differences between outpatient and inpatient medicine? Fundamentally, inpatient means checking into the hospital or care facility, while outpatient defines health care that can be administered without staying at the hospital. However, what has been prescribed above is the most basic terms of outpatient and inpatient services.

Case Assignment

Use the online library, required reading, and other resources to research and develop a more complete appreciation of the inpatient and outpatient settings. References should be no more than 5 years old. Websites should only be from reliable sources (only acceptable when accessing government sites).

Based on your findings, write a graduate-level comparative analysis of inpatient and outpatient services that clearly addresses the following:

  • Identify and describe inpatient settings and outpatient settings. Provide and explain at least two examples for each setting (e.g., Ambulatory Surgery Center vs. Rehabilitation Center).
  • Classify the typical services provided and key personnel between inpatient settings and outpatient settings.
  • Identify, describe, and evaluate a trend that is currently impacting inpatient and outpatient settings. These can be trends related to technology, supply and demand, political climate, regulatory, demographic changes, or patient care.
  • Analyze the trends, and thinking as a health care administrator, how do you capitalize on these trends to improve operation and bottom line performance? How can you mitigate the negative impact of the trends?

Length: 3-4 pages, not including the title or reference page(s).

For additional information on how to write a comparative analysis, review the following source:

Assignment Expectations

  1. Conduct additional research to gather sufficient information to justify/support your comparative analysis.
  2. Limit your response to a maximum of 4 pages.
  3. Support your report with peer-reviewed articles, with at least 3 references. Use the following link for additional information on how to recognize peer-reviewed journals. Angelo State University Library (n.d.) Library guide: How to recognize peer reviewed (refereed journals). Retrieved from: 
  4. You may use the following source to assist in formatting your assignment. Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). General APA guidelines. Retrieved from:
  5. For additional information on reliability of sources review the following source. Georgetown University Library (n.d.) Evaluating internet resources. Retrieved from