Organization Structure of Hospital

Organization Structure of Hospital: A hospital is a multifaceted organization comprising many committees, departments, types of personnel, and services.

• It requires highly trained employees, efficient systems and controls, necessary supplies, adequate equipment and facilities, and, of course, physicians and patients.
• It is a business as well as a caring, people-oriented institution and it has a similar structure and hierarchy of authority as any large business.

A. Board of Trustees:

• The board of trustees,” or governing board, operates the hospital in trust for the community and has a fiduciary duty to protect the assets of the hospital through efficient operation.
• The trustees are responsible for establishing the hospital’s mission and establishing its bylaws and strategic policies.
• Trustees select the administrative leader of the hospital and delegate the hospital’s daily operations and budgeting to the appointed executive.

B. Executive Administration

• The chief executive officer (CEO) reports to the governing board and provides leadership in implementing the strategic goals and decisions set by the Board. The CEO also represents the hospital to the external environment and the community.
• In these tasks, the CEO must coordinate the collective effort of the hospital’s personnel.

C. The Medical Staff

• The physician is the leader of the clinical team and the major agent working on behalf of the patient
• The physician’s responsibility is to diagnose the patient’s condition accurately and to prescribe the best and most cost-effective treatment plan.
• The medical staff is a formally organized self-governing unit within the hospital, primarily comprised of physicians, but may also include other doctoral-level health care professionals such as dentists or psychologists.

D. Nursing Services

• Nursing services employees are responsible for carrying out the treatment plan developed by the physician.
• Nursing services also called patient care services, are the largest component of the hospital.

E. Paramedical Departments

They include: Laboratory

1. Pathology department: The pathology department is one of the largest departments and has the responsibility for making tests and studies on blood, sputum, feces, body fluids, and tissues.
2. Bacteriology department: This laboratory is concerned with studies about bacteria and their toxins.
3. Biochemistry: This is considered with the chemistry of living organisms and vital processes.
4. Hematology laboratory: It is responsible for making hemoglobin determinations, coagulation time studies, red and white cell counts, and special blood pathology studies for anemia and leukemia, etc.
5. Parasitology laboratory: It studies the presence of parasites, the cyst, and ovas of the parasites that are found in the feces.
6. Serology laboratory: It does blood agglutination tests, Wassermann tests.
7. Blood bank: It has the responsibility for collecting and processing all blood used in the hospital for transfusions. It makes studies of newborn infants who may have hemolytic diseases and does antibody studies on prenatal patients.
8. Histopathology laboratory: It prepares tissues for gross and microscopic studies.

F. House Keeping Services

• Good housekeeping is reflecting the image of the hospital. The Head of the housekeeping department has good knowledge of the quality of soaps, detergents, cleaning agents, their use.
• He is also known for the principles of home economic and physical science.
• The activity of the housekeeping department:
• Cleaning of floor and wall with help of detergents and removal of dirt wipes.
• Maintain coloring of doors, windows, and rooms.
• To change curtains of door and window.
• To prepare a room when a patient leaves the room from the hospital.
• To perform linen services.
• To maintain records of beds, bedsheets, and pig and to send for washing and after washing to distribution.

G. Clinical Support Services

• The hospital pharmacy purchases and dispenses all the medications used to treat patients in the hospital. The pharmacist works directly with the medical staff in establishing a formulary, the listing of drugs chosen to be included in the pharmacy.

H. Medical Record-Keeping Service

The purpose of a medical record is

1. It protects the legal interest of the hospital and patient.
2. It provides data for research and education.
3. It provides communication to another physician.
4. It helps in the administration and planning of the hospital.
5. It helps in the treatment of a patient in the future.

I. Administrative Support Services

• Non-medical administrative services are necessary to the hospital’s business and physical plant management. The CEO leads these administrative services and is directly responsible for the day-to-day operations of the facility. Business services manage the hospital’s admitting and discharge functions, records charges to a patient’s account, and handles accounts receivables with third-party payers such as insurance companies.
• The finance department advises the CEO on financial policy and long-range planning, establishes procedures for accounting functions, receives and deposits all monies received by the hospital, and approves the payments of salaries and other expenditures.
• Accounting is central to the hospital’s financial business. Detailed and sound accounting practices are fundamental to maintaining important organizational statistics for administrative decision-making.
• Admitting services is often where the patient first has contact with the hospital. The sensitivity and efficiency of this department can greatly influence the patient’s perception of the quality of care received.
• Information services and medical record maintenance are core functions of hospital management.
• The human resources department interacts with all departments in the hospital to ensure the quality and motivation of personnel working at the hospital.
• Other important administrative and business functions may include marketing and planning, public relations, plant and materials management, fund-raising, housekeeping, and security.

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