Pros And Cons Of Ancillary Services

Ancillary services are those services which provide exclusive room and board that fall into one of the three categories: diagnostic, custodial, ad therapeutic (Ancillary, nd.). An example of a diagnostic service is a laboratory department; therapeutic example is a pharmacy; and custodial example is diabetes monitoring. Ancillary services can be more convenient and cost savings for clients.

According to the CDC, diabetes is becoming more common and has more than tripled from 1980 through 2011, from 5.6 million to 20.9 million (Diabetes public health resource, 2013). Type two diabetes can be managed through diet and exercise. Type two diabetes is a condition formerly called ‘adult-onset’ or ‘non insulin-dependent’ where the body doesn’t
According to Page, Medscape report showed that starts of new ancillary services rose from 19% of physicians in 2013 to 21% this aging year (Page, 2014). The startup of diabetes counseling is minimal with no equipment required. The pros of this ancillary service are that it welcomes a new source of revenue for practices with a large amount of diabetes patient (Page, 2014). The cons are the accreditation process is quite challenging, reimbursement rates are low, and diabetes patients may not want to use the services provided. With the rise of diabetes in the United States, the need for ancillary services is more convenient. One of the trends that impact ancillary services is the population. The U.S. expectancy in 2011 was 78.7 years, while U.S. men’s average life expectancy is 76 and 81 for U.S. women (The Huffington Post, 2013). The focus for most health care facilities is health promotion, disease awareness and proper education to promote a healthier lifestyle. Cost plays an important role for treatment. Medicare covers most costs, but sometimes not all private insurances do and must be paid out of pocket. If members have to pay out of pocket, then the sick patient won’t go to the doctor to seek