Term: Ambulatory Visits - Primary Care Provider / Ambulatory Primary Care Visits

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2020-05-20

Definition:

Ambulatory visits – Primary care provider is defined as the number visits to a primary care provider in an outpatient setting. Primary care providers are professionals that provide primary care services to patients. In MCHP research, primary care providers include Family Physicians (FP) and Nurse Practitioners. Outpatient settings generally include office visits, walk-in clinics and home visits. Visits by patients who are inpatients (admitted to an acute care hospital or personal care home) are not considered ambulatory visits. Outpatient surgeries and diagnostic tests and procedures are also not considered ambulatory visits.

For more information see:

  1. Ambulatory Primary Care Visits from Katz et al. (2019) deliverable and

    Technical Definitions of Indicators and Drug Codes from online supplement material from Katz et al. (2019).

  2. Read the Ambulatory Visits concept.
Note: Ambulatory Visits - Primary Care Provider has also been referred to as "Ambulatory Primary Care Visits" and "Ambulatory Visits to Physicians and Nurse Practitioners" (Fransoo et al. (2019)).

Note: Nurse Practitioners started being recorded in Medical Services Data in 2005.

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References