Difference Between Out-patient Department (OPD) Treatment and In-patient Department (IPD) Treatment
The ongoing pandemic has given a good wake-up call for everyone to take healthcare more seriously. While having the right healthcare infrastructure is a lengthier debate, getting the right coverage can go a long way in ensuring you get the right treatment. Thus, opting for a health insurance plan is more important than ever.
4 Reasons why you must consider buying a health insurance plan for yourself
Here are some crucial reasons why you must consider buying a health insurance plan for yourself and your loved ones.
- Sedentary Lifestyle: A lot of us lead a sedentary lifestyle and it leads to a lot of lifestyle diseases. Diseases that were earlier common to older people can now be easily found in younger people. Diseases such as diabetes, health-related issues, obesity, respiratory issues, etc. are good examples of the same.
- Inflation: It is the rate at which prices increase over a period of time for certain things. Unfortunately, medical inflation is amongst the highest. It hovers around 18-20%. The easiest way to counter than is to buy a health insurance policy. If you start your health insurance policy early, you will mostly end up paying lower premiums and beating the inflation.
- Protection for Family: Instead of buying separate covers for all members of the family, you can buy a family floater plan. It is not only more affordable but easier to manage as well. A family floater plan usually covers dependent parents, spouses, and children. Thus, making sure your loved ones are well-protected.
- Safeguard your Savings: Healthcare is one of the fastest ways to deplete your savings. A medical procedure or admission to the hospital for a couple of days can easily set your finances back. However, with a health insurance plan you do not have to worry about your savings.
Health Insurance Coverage
Now that we know the need for health insurance, the next logical step would be to explore all the features and benefits that it has to offer. Some of the most distinctive features of a health insurance plan are as follows.
- Hospitalisation Expenses: A health plan will cover all expenses if a patient is admitted for more than 24 hours to a medical facility. These expenses include room rent, nurse charges, surgeon charges, doctor’s consultation, etc.
- Pre and Post hospitalisation: A lot of medical procedures require medical attention or medications a few days prior to the procedure and a few days after the procedure. Health insurance plans usually cover expenses related to pre and post hospitalisation.
- Renewal Options: Some of the health insurance plans offer lifelong renewal options for their policyholders. This is a good option to have, since you no longer have to worry about looking for another insurer, provided you are content with the services of the current one.
- Outpatient Department: Depending on the insurance company, OPD cover can either be part of the native policy or you can purchase it as an add-on or rider. The OPD accounts for a lot of expenses and the cover makes sure that you no longer have to pay for OPD expenses from your pockets.
- Health Check-up: Quite a few health insurance providers offer free health check-ups for their policyholders. A regular check-up will help in the early detection of any potential medical condition and give you peace of mind if there aren’t any issues.
Difference Between Out-patient Department (OPD) Treatment and In-patient Department (IPD) Treatment:
There is are some clear differences between the two types of treatment. Here are the differences between OPD and IPD.
OPD & IPD are two of the most used terms in health insurance plans. OPD stands for the outpatient department while IPD stands for the inpatient department. There are a few common grounds between OPD & IPD and at the same time difference between OPD and IPD is also quite stark.
In both OPD & IPD a patient gets adequate medical attention under the supervision of a doctor. The decision to provide treatment in OPD or IPD depends on the medical condition at hand.
To start the difference between OPD and IPD, a patient must be admitted for more than 24 hours in a hospital for IPD. Conversely, OPD treatment does not require the patient to be admitted for more than 24 hours. A patient who arrives at a hospital for the first time will almost certainly visit the OPD. However, for IPD they would need to stay longer as per the initial diagnosis of the doctor.
Another difference between OPD and IPD is that OPD caters to consultation, minor surgeries, dental and ophthalmic procedures, etc. whereas IPD is responsible for more serious health conditions. Such as major surgery or complex surgery, a serious illness that needs constant monitoring, childbirth, rehabilitation services, etc.
The chances of a person revisiting the OPD are much higher than revising as IPD. In either case, having adequate coverage will ensure you or your loved ones get the required treatment. While inpatient department treatment is a standard coverage, you might have to explicitly add the outpatient department cover.
OPD vs IPD FAQs
Why are OPD and IPD different?
OPD stands for Outpatient Department, whereas, IPD full form is Inpatient Department. In OPD a patient is not admitted but in an IPD, a patient is admitted for at least 24 hours. They both vary in terms of costing too. OPD is cheaper than IPD. Moreover, a patient might need to revisit an OPD for complete treatment, whereas, a patient is discharged from an IPD after a complete treatment.
What is IPD Care?
IPD care means Inpatient Department Care. It is a department in a hospital that admits patients for medical treatments, diagnosis, after-care post surgeries, and emergency medical assistance. The patient needs to stay in an IPD for at least 24 hours.
What is the basic difference between OPD facility and IPD facility of a hospital?
The basic difference between OPD and IPD is that in an OPD, a patient can consult a doctor and return, whereas, in an IPD, a patient is admitted in a hospital for at least a duration of 24 hours.
What are the types of OPD?
OPD is a vast department that involves in different types where different specialists are available to provide check-ups. Some types of sections in an OPD are E.N.T., Skin, Dental, Surgeon, Orthopaedic, Gastrointestinal, Pharmacy, and so on.
Why IPD is important in hospital?
IPD is a very important department in any hospital, where a patient is admitted to get a medical treatment. Generally, patients get admitted to an IPD for emergency medical assistance, medical treatments, childbirth, and for surgical procedures.
Is OPD covered in Mediclaim?
Many health insurance companies offer OPD benefits. However, to avail an OPD cover benefit, under a Mediclaim policy, as a policyholder you must not have got hospitalized.
How OPD can be an important part of a hospital?
OPD or Outpatient Department is indeed a very important ward of any hospital. A large section of the society visits this department to consult doctors and specialists in an affordable manner.
What are the key issues in OPD?
Some of the shortcomings in an OPD is that to avail this medical facility, patients often need to wait for hours in a queue or waiting room. Secondly, sometimes there is a shortage of doctors in such OPDs as compared to the number of patients.
How do I buy health insurance with OPD cover?
Most health insurance companies offer an OPD cover as an add-on benefit rider on the payment of additional premium. However, now some insurers are offering OPD cover as an integral part of the health insurance policy. So, do check about the OPD coverage when buying a health insurance plan.
Can I avail of tax deductions on health insurance plans with OPD cover?
Yes, most of the health plans offer OPD cover that comes with the tax benefits under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.
