Ancillary care providers support the communication between outpatient and physician services and primary care hospitals or practices. Ancillary care services are classified as diagnostic (lab work), therapeutic (e.g., physical therapy), and custodial (e.g., urgent care, nursing facilities, and hospice). Hospitals can leverage the staff management, operational management, and informational exchange features of ancillary care service providers to offer better, more efficient care. Ancillary care providers either provide the tools that hospitals need to integrate with ancillary care systems or the workforce needed to provide those services to their patients.
To qualify for inclusion in the Ancillary Care category, a services provider must:
- Promote interoperability between hospital and ancillary care systems
- Facilitate exchange of information between hospitals and various ancillary care services