What Are Outpatient Rehabilitation Services?
Many people require outpatient rehab services after a hospital stay for an acute or chronic illness. Others have been prescribed these services to prevent an illness or injury progressing further.
Despite how common outpatient rehab is, there is some confusion over what exactly it means and what it entails. With that in mind, in today’s blog post we are going to look at outpatient treatment, the difference between outpatient and inpatient services, and talk about what is involved in outpatient rehabilitation services.
What does outpatient treatment mean exactly?
Outpatient treatment is very broad, in essence, it simply means any medical treatment or rehabilitative services you receive when you are not admitted to a hospital. That does not mean that a hospital will not be providing the treatment, just that you are not a registered patient who requires a bed.
Other care providers who offer outpatient services include nursing homes and dedicated therapy centers. Some care providers, Fairview Rehab & Nursing Home in Queens NY included, offer both nursing home and rehabilitation services.
The difference between outpatient and inpatient treatment
As we said above, outpatient treatment and rehab services are provided to those not admitted to a hospital. In contrast, inpatient treatment is given to those who are staying in a hospital or dedicated care provider.
Both inpatient and outpatient treatment cover emergencies and surgeries, the key difference is that outpatients have stable health and are able to leave the hospital. Many are then told by doctors to complete outpatient therapy services.
Outpatient therapy services at Fairview
Fairview Rehab and Nursing Home offers comprehensive outpatient services including, physical, occupational, and speech therapy programs. Let’s take a closer look at each type of therapy and its key goals.
Physical therapy
Physical therapy has its base in biomechanics and aims to help patients regain the use of their bodies, use patients may have lost after an accident or prolonged period of illness. Physical therapy is applicable to a wide range of situations.
People who are suffering from spinal or muscular-skeletal conditions, people who have had a stroke, and people who have been injured, all benefit from physical therapy. This rehabilitative therapy is useful in many situations.
Occupational therapy
Of the three outpatient rehab services, occupational therapy is the one that most closely deals with people’s everyday lives. Occupational therapy helps individuals regain their basic day to day life skills.
It is often prescribed to those living with degenerative and/or neurological conditions. Occupational therapy can help with simple things such as writing a note, making a cup of tea, eating, and much much more.
Speech therapy
As the name suggests, this outpatient rehab service helps patients regain their speech. Quite often, speech therapy is prescribed after a stroke. But the therapy has uses outside rehabilitating speech only. For example, speech therapy is also useful at helping people re-learn how to swallow, an issue that may arise in certain conditions and diseases.
Are you looking for dedicated outpatient rehabilitation services? If so, get in touch with Fairview in Queens NY today and find out how our team of experienced therapists can help you.
This article contains informational and educational materials and does not replace health or medical advice. For questions or concerns regarding your medical condition or health objectives, speak to a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
Thank you for explaining to us that outpatient treatment refers to receiving rehabilitative services without being admitted to a hospital, so this usually includes facilities like nursing homes and dedicated therapy centers. We recently found out about my cousin who was struggling with drug abuse since he needed them to help him sleep and got overly dependent on them. I’ll keep this in mind while I look for an outpatient substance abuse program to recommend to my cousin for his recovery soon.