Chapter 8 - Hospitals

Question 1

Discharge

Answer 1

refers to the total number of people that were served

Question 2

Impatient Day

Answer 2

refers to a night spent in the hospital by a patient

Question 3

Average length of stay (ALOS)

Answer 3

the average number of days a person spends in the hospital

Question 4

Who is admitted to the hospital more, men or women?

Answer 4

Women, women also tend to live longer

Question 5

Who is admitted more, African Americans or Caucasians?

Answer 5

African Americas go to the hospital more than Caucasians

Question 6

Who is admitted more, poor or non-poor?

Answer 6

Poor people go to the hospital more than non-poor people, don’t have primary care doctors and don’t typically receive preventative care

Question 7

what is the ALOS?

Answer 7

4.8 days… insurance is driving number down, want patients to stay less and less in hospitals because it’s so expensive

Question 8

Capacity

Answer 8

how many beds you have TOTAL

Question 9

Census

Answer 9

how many beds are ACTUALLY occupied

Question 10

occupancy rate

Answer 10

the percentage capacity used during a given period of time

Question 11

Public Hospitals

Answer 11

• These hospitals are owned by agencies affiliated with federal, state or local governments
• Just because they are “public” does not mean that anyone can use them

Federal hospitals are for special groups
EX) VA Hospital

Question 12

Local Hospitals

Answer 12

• open to general public
• Serve mostly in the inner city and indigent and disadvantage populations
• Can be affiliated with medical schools and train other health professionals
• Often provide charity care and suffer a financial hit

Question 13

Private Nonprofit Hospitals (not-for-profit)

Answer 13

• Also called “voluntary hospitals”
• Owned by non-government entities
• Mission: to benefit the community
• Operating expenses are covered from patient fees, reimbursement from insurance, donations and endowments

-Exempt from federal, state and local taxes
In exchange they have to:
1) provide some defined public good, such as service, education or community welfare, 2) not distribute the profits to any individual

Question 14

Private for-profit Hospitals

Answer 14

• Also known as “proprietary hospitals”
• Owned by individuals, partnerships or corporations – stockholders.
• Often have a specialty (ortho, cardiac, etc)
• Goal is to provide a return on investment to their shareholders
• Mission: deliver the highest quality of care possible at the most reasonable price

Question 15

General Hospitals

Answer 15

• Provide diagnostic, treatment and surgical services with a variety of conditions
• Have a broader range of services that they provide for a assortment of conditions

Question 16

Specialty Hospitals

Answer 16

-Treat specific types of disease or medical conditions

ortho, cancer, cardia, psychiatric, children

Question 17

Psychiatric Hospitals

Answer 17

• Provide treatment to those who have mental illness
• Must have psychiatric, psychological and social work services
• Written agreement from a general hospital that they will transfer patients for medical care
• Most psych hospitals are state run hospitals

Question 18

Rehabilitation Hospitals

Answer 18

• Specializes in intensive therapeutic services

- Various conditions such as: stroke/neuro, TBI, etc.

Question 19

Children’s Hospitals

Answer 19

Treats children with unique medical conditions (chronic or congenital)

Nursing care is at a higher ratio at a children’s hospital than an adult hospital

Question 20

Rural Hospitals

Answer 20

• Located in a county that is not part of the metro area (EX: St. Paul Hospital)
• Challenges for rural health: location, small size, staffing, physician shortages and inadequate financial resources
• Balanced Budget Act of 1997 Critical Access Hospitals

25 beds or less for Emergency Care; additional 10 may be used for psychiatric/rehab services

Question 21

Teaching Hospitals

Answer 21

• Offer one or more graduate residency program approved by the AMA
• Unless they are training “physicians” they cannot be called a teaching hospital even though they are teaching other health professionals
• Academic Medical Center: active collaboration between a hospital and a university

Have a teaching and research mission

Often have higher specialty or subspecialties

Question 22

Osteopathic Hospitals

Answer 22

• Takes a holistic approach to a patients care

- DO and MD’s work side by side of each other, typically treat patients the same

Question 23

Who do hospitals have to be licensed by? How many times is it checked?

Answer 23

• Licensed by State

- Checked once yearly

Question 24

Why do hospitals have to be certified?

Answer 24

So they can participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs

Question 25

How often are hospitals reaccredited?

Answer 25

Once every five years