Acute is referred as inpatient care whereas ambulatory indicates outpatient care. An acute care facility is a medical facility where the patients are continually under care day and night. An ambulatory care facility could be considered as a non-medical facility such as, schools or nursing homes, however it can consist of medical doctor’s office and other medical settings that usually only take care of non-emergency situations. Urgent care clinics are widely known as an ambulatory care facility although they take care of patients with life-threatening symptoms. In an ambulatory care setting, healthcare patients do not have to spend the night at the facility. In an acute care setting, healthcare patients typically stay in their care within 1
