what are the basic roles and functions
of
a hospital?
Answers
Answer:
Hospital role in health system
They matter to health systems: they are instrumental for care coordination and integration and have a key role to play in supporting other health-care providers (including primary health care) and in community outreach and home-based services.
Explanation:
The main function of a hospital is to provide the population with complete health care; it also functions as the centre for the training of health workers. A hospital is generally a vital part of a social and medical organization.
Following are some of the broad categories of Hospital functions:
Medical care ‐ which involves the treatment and management of patients through the staff of physicians.
Patient Support ‐ which relates directly to patient care and includes nursing, dietary diagnostic, therapy, pharmacy and laboratory services.
Administrative ‐ which concerns the execution of policies and directions of the hospital governing discharge of support services in the area of finance, personnel, materials and property, housekeeping, laundry, security, transport, engineering and board and other maintenance. Besides these the following are some major responsibilities coming under administrative service:
· To plan, direct and coordinate financial operations of the hospital.
· To prepare work and financial plan and provide fund estimates for programs and projects.
· To manage the receipt and disbursement of cash/ collections.
· To administer personnel development programs, policies and standards;
· To give advice on matters affecting policies, enforcement and administration of laws, rules and regulations.
· To procure, store, manage and issue the inventory and disposal of unserviceable hospital equipment and materials; and
· To provide general services such as repairs and maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, transport and security.
Teaching ‐ Vocational, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Continuing education.
Research ‐ Basic research, Clinical research, Health services research, Educational research.
Employment ‐ Inside hospital : Health professionals, other health care workers Outside hospital: Suppliers, Transport services.
Answer:
Functions of hospitals:
The technical discussion of the Tenth World Health Assembly was held in 1957, the subject of which was "The Role of the Hospital in the Public Health Programme". Some two hundred participants attended the sessions under the general chairmanship of Dr. A. J. Metcalfe, Director‐General of Health of Australia. Participants were split into nine groups, and the nine group reports were consolidated to make a general statement. From the start of the discussions the cards were stacked in favour of an extension of hospital functions for it is recorded that the groups were all but unanimous accepting the definition of a hospital put out in the first report of the Expert Committee on Organization of Medical Care of the World Health Organization: "The hospital is an integral part of a social and medicalorganization, the function of which is to provide the population complete healthcare, both curative and preventive, and whose out-patient services reach out to the family in its home environment; the hospital is also a centre for the training of health workers and for bio-social research."
1. Major functions of hospitals:
The main function of a hospital is to provide the population with complete health care; it also functions as the centre for the training of health workers. A hospital is generally a vital part of a social and medical organization.
Following are some of the broad categories of Hospital functions:
Medical care ‐ which involves the treatment and management of patients through the staff of physicians.
Patient Support ‐ which relates directly to patient care and includes nursing, dietary diagnostic, therapy, pharmacy and laboratory services.
Administrative ‐ which concerns the execution of policies and directions of the hospital governing discharge of support services in the area of finance, personnel, materials and property, housekeeping, laundry, security, transport, engineering and board and other maintenance. Besides these the following are some major responsibilities coming under administrative service:
· To plan, direct and coordinate financial operations of the hospital.
· To prepare work and financial plan and provide fund estimates for programs and projects.
· To manage the receipt and disbursement of cash/ collections.
· To administer personnel development programs, policies and standards;
· To give advice on matters affecting policies, enforcement and administration of laws, rules and regulations.
· To procure, store, manage and issue the inventory and disposal of unserviceable hospital equipment and materials; and
· To provide general services such as repairs and maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, transport and security.
Teaching ‐ Vocational, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Continuing education.
Research ‐ Basic research, Clinical research, Health services research, Educational research.
Employment ‐ Inside hospital : Health professionals, other health care workers Outside hospital: Suppliers, Transport services.
2. Some critical points regarding functions of hospitals:
Medical sociologists assert that the delivery of health services is much more than simply the application of scientific and technical knowledge. Health care services are delivered by people to people within various social environments, which can influence the way medical technology is delivered or received and, perhaps most important, the clinical outcomes for people seeking help.
More over the rising costs and inconsistent quality of health care have raised significant questions among professionals, policy makers, and the public about the way health services are being delivered. For the past 50 years, medical sociologists have made significant contributions in improving our understanding of the nature and impact of the organizations (hospitals) that constitute our health care system. In this section, three central issues in the sociology of health services have been discussed:
· Health services unequally distributed, contributing to health inequalities across status groups;
· social institutions reproduce health care inequalities by constraining and enabling the actions of health service organizations, health care providers, and consumers;
· the structure and dynamics of health care organizations shape the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of health services for different groups and communities;
· the policy implications for future health care reform efforts.
drugs, or instructed to make lifestyle changes. Conversely, they are three to five times more likely to be sent home without any treatment (Lockyer and Bury 2002; McKinlay 1996). These patterns delay diagnosis and contribute to higher mortality rates among women with heart disease relative to men.