How Ancillary Technologies Are Elevating the Healthcare Industry

Ancillary technologies and medical devices are indispensable in modern healthcare, supporting doctors and nurses by enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. These innovations are not only changing the healthcare landscape but also ensuring that medical practitioners can deliver higher quality services. This shift highlights the critical role of advanced medical devices and ancillary technologies in the ongoing evolution of healthcare.

What Are Ancillary Health Care Services?

Ancillary health care services are most easily defined as any service that is not directly provided by an acute care specialist like a doctor or dentist. An ancillary service is one that complements, supports, or improves a health care provider’s primary activities. 

Ancillary services could be, for example, a third-party lab that a patient is referred to for additional work, or a just separate department of the hospital. They might also never be seen by the patient firsthand, as ancillary health care services can also take the form of behind-the-scenes operations that help support doctors and hospitals in their work.

Some common examples of ancillary health care services include:

• Rehabilitative services
• Hospice care
• Assisted living facilities
• Ambulance/EMS
• Audiology
• Diagnostics
• Lab work
• Genetics
• Pharmacy
• Radiology
• Dialysis
• Medical equipment supply

Types of Ancillary Services in Healthcare

Within the context of the healthcare field, ancillary services are categorized into three distinct categories:

• Diagnostic. Diagnostics help a doctor determine the best course of action for treating a patient. Diagnostics often consist of lab work and imaging.
• Therapeutic. Rehab providers, pharmacists, and physical therapists are some common examples of professionals who provide ancillary health care services of the therapeutic type.
• Custodial. An example of a custodial ancillary health care service would be a nursing home. Custodial services are typically only associated with patients who need help completing day-to-day tasks.

Ancillary health care services are far more than just “secondary” services. They are vital pieces of modern health care that are modular, responsive, and global. Ancillary services can support primary care providers (and patients) in several critical ways, including:

• Allowing doctors to focus on their specializations.
• Outsourcing certain ancillary specialists and services to keep costs manageable for healthcare systems.
• Reducing in-house staff training needs (and staff errors).
• Fostering good relationships between different healthcare professionals and systems.
• Improving trust between patient and provider.
• Modernizing reliance on ancillary healthcare that’s led to the development of integrated information technology systems. These provide an improved experience for both health care providers and patients.
• Helping a system gather and interpret data related to health care outcomes.
• Allowing providers to integrate new models of care delivery without making a system-wide commitment to those models.
• Expanding the reach of the healthcare industry into underserved and remote communities.
• Increasing patient access.
• Decreasing stress on in-house administrative resources.

Ancillary Healthcare and Pandemic Response

During the worst months of the Covid-19 pandemic, many non-critical healthcare appointments and procedures were postponed or delayed indefinitely, while hospitals tightened regulations to keep staff and patients healthy.

As healthcare systems transitioned to a “new normal” while still being very serious about their pandemic response, certain ancillary services came into the spotlight. Information technology and telehealth services played a crucial role in connecting doctors to patients while minimizing the risk for disease transmission.

Vaccine development and deployment represent two more very important ancillary health care services that were highlighted by Covid-19.

Mott Corporation: Your Trusted Partner for Porous Metal Filters, Flow Control Engineering and Custom Filtration Solutions for Ancillary Health Care Applications

Mott Corporation has a long history of success supporting operations that require custom filtration and flow control systems designed to exact specifications. We’re pleased to offer those world-class services and products to our partners in the health care and ancillary service sectors. Whether your field is diagnostics or drug delivery, Mott can help improve your processes and outcomes.

Some of the elements we can provide to help you improve your ancillary technology include:

• Medical drug delivery device technologies
• Micro spargers and quick-change spargers for bioreactor applications
• Flow restrictors for healthcare applications
• Custom filtration solutions
• Flow control for immunoassays

Contact us today to see how we can help you expand and improve your ancillary health care technology.

 

FAQs: Ancillary Services in Healthcare

Q: What are ancillary services in healthcare?

A: Ancillary services in healthcare refer to a wide range of support services that are crucial to the primary care provided by doctors and nurses. These services include diagnostics, therapeutic treatments, and custodial care, playing a vital role in enhancing patient care and operational efficiency within the healthcare industry.

Q: How do ancillary services improve healthcare?

A: Ancillary services improve healthcare by allowing primary care providers to focus on their specialties, reducing costs, minimizing training needs, fostering professional relationships, enhancing patient-provider trust, modernizing healthcare through integrated IT systems, and expanding healthcare access to underserved communities.

Q: Why are ancillary services important during a pandemic?

A: During a pandemic, ancillary services such as telehealth and information technology become crucial for maintaining patient care while minimizing disease transmission risks. They also play a key role in vaccine development and deployment, highlighting their importance in pandemic response and management.

Q: How does Mott Corporation support ancillary services in diagnostics?

A: Mott Corporation provides advanced filtration and flow control solutions that enhance diagnostic accuracy and efficiency in healthcare settings. Their products ensure reliable sample analysis, contributing to timely and precise diagnostic outcomes.

Q: Can Mott Corporation’s technology improve therapeutic ancillary services?

A: Yes, Mott’s custom filtration and flow control systems are vital in therapeutic applications, including drug delivery and bioreactor processes. Their technologies enable precise control and purity, ensuring effective treatment delivery.

Q: How do Mott Corporation’s offerings benefit custodial care services?

A: Mott Corporation designs filtration solutions that support the safety and efficiency of custodial care environments, such as long-term care facilities. Their products can improve air and water quality, contributing to healthier environments for patients needing long-term support.