I can't see why the word would take on a different meaning in this context. Specialist care may only be available in the town/city centre with facilities in the suburbs only performing check ups.

The implied point (see the stub of context) is that this
facility offers limited services.

périphérie = outside the (large) city

Just a thought...

If the patient comes from another service or from an ambulatory care center...


Ambulatory care is any medical care delivered on an outpatient basis. Many medical conditions do not require hospital admission and can be managed without admission to a hospital. Many medical investigations can be performed on an ambulatory basis, including blood tests, X-rays, endoscopy and even biopsy procedures of superficial organs.

Sites where ambulatory care can be delivered include:

Physician offices
This is the most common site for the delivery of ambulatory care. Physicians of many specialties deliver ambulatory care. These physicians include specialists in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, gynaecology, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

Hospital emergency departments
Some visits to emergency departments result in hospital admission, so these would be considered emergency medicine visits rather than ambulatory care. Most visits to hospital emergency departments, however, do not require hospital admission. Many of these visits are not true emergencies and are better seen in an urgent care center.

Urgent care centers
The Urgent Care Association of America(UCAOA) estimates that over 15,000 urgent care centers deliver urgent care in the USA. These centers are designed to evaluate and treat conditions that are not severe enough to require treatment in a hospital emergency department but still require treatment beyond normal physician office hours or before a physician appointment is available.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2009-03-08 19:06:51 GMT)
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for périphérie I could say "from the area"

Current NHS phrase for renal units which operate 2-3 days a week, and have a visiting Nephrologist (to save money employing someone full time). Imported phrase from USA Healthcare system. They provide not only dialysis, but also monitoring services for patients with lower stages of Renal impairment.

I would understand the phrase to mean a setting which does not specialize in renal care/transplatation.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2009-03-08 19:12:07 GMT)
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On reflection, I would want to amend this suggestion to 'suburban non-specialist facility'

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Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2009-03-09 14:42:04 GMT)
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(or out-of-town if suburban is too British)