Which sequence correctly represents Levels of Care in order from acute to outpatient?

• A. Acute care -> SNF/subacute -> Acute Inpt -> LTAC -> Day rehab -> HHC -> Primary care -> Outpatient
• B. Acute care -> Inpatient rehab -> SNF -> LTAC -> Day rehab -> Home health -> Primary care -> Outpatient
• C. Acute care -> SNF -> LTAC -> acute inpt -> home health -> primary care -> outpatient
• D. Acute care -> SNF/subacute -> outpatient -> primary care -> LTAC -> day rehab -> HHC

Answer: (A)

Understanding how care settings scale in intensity helps explain why this order makes sense. You start with acute care in a hospital for the most severe, immediate needs. Once stabilized, many patients move to SNF or subacute facilities for ongoing nursing support and rehabilitation in a structured, longer-term setting. If further high-acuity needs arise, a return to an acute inpatient level may occur, but the goal is to step down as quickly as the condition allows. After that, long-term acute care is used for patients requiring extended hospital-level care due to complex, chronic conditions. As recovery continues, the setting becomes less intensive and more outpatient: day rehabilitation provides daytime rehab without overnight stays, then home health care delivers skilled services at home, followed by primary care for routine medical management, and finally outpatient care for non-urgent follow-up or specialty services.

Other sequences tend to misplace the level of acuity (for example, moving LTAC or inpatient rehab too early or skipping SNF/subacute) or push outpatient services before appropriate home-based or primary-care steps, which doesn’t align with the typical post-acute continuum.