A patient encounter where a patient is admitted by a hospital or equivalent facility, assigned to a location where patients generally stay at least overnight and provided with room, board, and continuous nursing service.

A comprehensive term for health care provided in a healthcare facility (e.g. a practitioneraTMs office, clinic setting, or hospital) on a nonresident basis. The term ambulatory usually implies that the patient has come to the location and is not assigned to a bed. Sometimes referred to as an outpatient encounter.

An encounter where the patient usually will start in different encounter, such as one in the emergency department (EMER) but then transition to this type of encounter because they require a significant period of treatment and monitoring to determine whether or not their condition warrants an inpatient admission or discharge. In the majority of cases the decision about admission or discharge will occur within a time period determined by local, regional or national regulation, often between 24 and 48 hours.

A patient encounter that takes place at a dedicated healthcare service delivery location where the patient receives immediate evaluation and treatment, provided until the patient can be discharged or responsibility for the patient's care is transferred elsewhere (for example, the patient could be admitted as an inpatient or transferred to another facility.)

A patient encounter where the patient and the practitioner(s) are not in the same physical location. Examples include telephone conference, email exchange, robotic surgery, and televideo conference.

Healthcare encounter that takes place in the residence of the patient or a designee