General Organisation
Hospital1 departments are generally grouped according to similarity of duties in order to improve efficiency. The following are the most common organisational categories.
Administration Services
Hospital administrators run the hospital, manage the operation of departments, approve budgets, establish hospital procedures and deal with public relations.
Information Services
They document and process information and include:
- Admissions – which check patients into hospital and whose responsibilities include obtaining vital information about the patient;
- Billing and Collection Departments – where patients pay for services;
- Medical Records – responsible for maintaining copies of all patient records;
- Information Systems – responsible for computers and the hospital network;
- Human Resources – responsible for recruiting employees.
Therapeutic Services
They provide treatment to patients and usually include the following departments:
- Physical Therapy: provides treatment to improve large-muscle mobility and prevent or limit permanent disability;
- Speech/Language Pathology: evaluates and treats patients with speech and language disorders and impairments;
- Respiratory Therapy: patients with heart and lung diseases are treated here;
- Medical Psychology: this service is concerned with the mental well-being of patients;
- Social Services: aid patients by referring them to community resources for living assistance (housing, medical, mental, financial);
- Pharmacy: dispenses prescribed medications and provides information on the correct way to use them;
- Dietary: responsible for helping patients maintain nutritionally correct diets;
- Sports Medicine: the people here provide rehabilitative services to athletes and first aid for sports injuries;
- Nursing: in this department, staff provide care for patients as directed by doctors. Many nursing specialties include: nurse practitioner, labour and delivery nurse, neonatal nurse, emergency room nurse, nurse midwife, surgical nurse, nurse anaesthetist.
WARM UP
Have you ever been in a hospital? If so, why?
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1 Large hospitals, consisting of a thousand beds or more, emerged during the early 19th century in France when Napoleon established them to house his wounded soldiers from his many wars.
Diagnostic Services
They determine the cause(s) of an illness or injury. They usually include:
- Medical Laboratory, which studies body tissues;
- Imaging (Diagnostic Radiology, MRI, CT scan, Ultra Sound);
- Emergency Medicine.
