The word “ambulatory” refers to walking.
It is used quite often in medical configs to refer to a variety of healthcare concerns.
If you’re having outpatient surgery, it’s ambulatory.
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This article discusseswhat ambulatory meanswhen describing people and objects in the healthcare system.
What Does Ambulatory Mean?
The word “ambulatory” means “related to walking” or ambulation.
It is used in several different ways in medical care situations.
When used to describe a care setting, as in ambulatory care, it refers to outpatient services.
For example, you might have ambulatory surgery, which is also called outpatient surgery.
What Is an Ambulatory Patient?
Healthcare professionals may refer to a patient as ambulatory.
This means the patient is able to walk around.
After surgery or medical treatment, a patient may be unable to walk unassisted.
Once the patient is able to do so, they are considered ambulatory.
A doctor may ask a nurse or therapist, “Is the patient ambulatory?”
In this case, the patients may or maynotbe able to walk and they may even need a wheelchair.
Ambulatory simply means the patient is not confined to the hospital.
They return home the same day.
Ambulatory cardiac monitoring can be done with a wearable machine.
Another example is ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
A patient wears aportable blood pressure cufffor 24 hours while they go about their usual activities.
The results are synced to a computer for analysis of the data.
This gives doctors have a clear picture of how his blood pressure changes throughout a normal day.
Ambulatory Assistive Devices
Ambulatory assistive devices are used to help people walk.
They includecanes, crutches, andwalkers.
Your providers can explain how the term is used concerning your health or your treatments.
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