policies

1. Role of Hospitals
in Health Care
A Hospital isan integral part of a Social and Medical organisation, thefunction
of which is to providefor the
population completehealth care, both curativeand preventive, and whose
outpatient servicesreach out to the
family and itshome environment;the hospital is also a centre for the training of
health workers and biosocial
research.
the services provided by hospitals, health centres and nursing homes, apart from
privately practising physicians has been traditionally classified into :
i. promotion of health,
ii. prevention of disease,
iii. early diagnosis and treatment, and
iv. rehabilitation.
Promotion of Health: is not directed at any particulardisease and is generally considered
the responsibility of the individual.
Prevention of Disease: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care.
Early Diagnosisand Treatment: The earlier a disease is diagnosed and treated, the
better it is
from the point of view of prognosis and for preventing secondary cases in the
community.
Rehabilitation: the combined and coordinated use of medical, social, educational and
vocational measures for training or retraining the individualto the highest possible level of
functional ability .
Strategic Planning of hospital: Strategic planning is that set of decisions and actions

2. which lead to the development of an effective strategy to achieve the basic objectives of the
hospitals, with quality patient care at a reasonable cost and achieving excess revenue over
costs.
Patient Care of a High Quality:
Patient care of a high quality should be achieved by the
hospital through adopting following measures.
1. Provision of appropriate technical equipment and facilities
necessary to support the hospital’s objectives.
2. An organisational structure that assigns responsibility
appropriately and requires accountability for the various
functions within the institution.
3. A continuous review of the adequacy of care provided
by physicians, nursing staff and paramedical personnel
and of the adequacy with which it is supported by other
hospital activities.
Outpatient department:
is defined as a part of the hospital
with allotted physical facilities and medical and other staff,
with regularly scheduled hours, to provide care for patients
who are not registered as inpatients.
The importance of the outpatient department lies
in the following:
1. An outpatient department is the patient’s first point of
contact with the hospital and entry point intothe health
care delivery system.
2. It is an inseparable link in the hierarchical chain of health
care facilities.
3. It contributes to reduction in morbidity and mortality.
4. It is a stepping stone for health promotion and disease
prevention.
5. It helps reduce the number of admission to inpatient
wards, thus, conserving scarce beds.
6. It acts as a filter for inpatient admissions, ensuring that
only those patients are admitted who are most likely to
benefit from such care.

3. 7. It is the “shop window” of the hospital.
Flow Pattern:
Reception
and Inquiry
REGISTRAT
ION AND
WAITING
CLINICSADMISSION
OFFICE
HOSPITAL
INPATIENT LAB
RADIO
LOGY
DISCHARGE
PHARMACY