Put simply, inpatient care is when a patient stays at the hospital while under treatment. This is the opposite of outpatient care, wherein the patient is allowed to leave the hospital after treatment. Inpatient services can include anything from psychiatric centers and eating disorder programs to certain oncology programs and coma treatment.
Generally, patients are admitted on routine telemetry orders based on pre-established telemetry/discharge criteria.
These units provide for cardiac and ventilated patients as well as for patients needing lidocaine, pronestyl, heparin, aminophylline, just to name a few. Most inpatient service centers are also used primarily for surgical, orthopedic and oncology patients. Patients are often admitted on routine admission orders.