outpatient

Definition of outpatientnext
as in inpatient
a person who goes to a doctor's office or hospital for treatment but who does not spend the night there
—often used before another noun
outpatient surgery It was a minor procedure that could be performed at an outpatient clinic.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outpatient Overall outpatient drug payments rose nearly 15% a year from 2015 through 2017. — Casey B. Mulligan, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026 The nonprofit immunology research institute must be affiliated with a University of California campus that has a hospital and clinic volume of more than 35,000 inpatient admissions and 3,500,000 outpatient visits each year. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Instead he was sent to the nearby Army barracks and told to schedule outpatient appointments. — Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026 Many soldiers are struggling months after the attack Lincón spent seven weeks getting specialized outpatient care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, before being sent home to Kansas. — Julie Watson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for outpatient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outpatient
Noun
  • Records showed Moss entered an inpatient rehabilitation center after her license was suspended.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In 2025, Atrium had about 2,000 pediatric patients for inpatient care and served nearly 20,000 pediatric patients for outpatient care.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Is Meredith’s arc going to be tied to this new patient (Martin Martinez) who is in the foster care system and potentially has cancer?
    — Max Gao, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Under New York law, for example, providers need explicit consent from patients to access their data from health information exchanges.
    — Alex Rosenblat — CalMatters, STAT, 15 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Outpatient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outpatient. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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