OPD- Outpatient Department

                              OPD- Outpatient Department

IMPORTANCE OF OUTPATIENT SERVICES

INTRODUCTION

OPD is:-

-The point of contact between hospital and community.

-First impression of the hospital.

-Shop window of the hospital.

DEFINITION

OPD 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.

A hospital department where patients receive diagnosis & treatment but do not stay overnight.

Reasons for Shifting of focus from IP to OP:-

The rising cost of hospital care.

Shortage of hospital beds.

Economic importance.

Objective of OPD

Provides Quality of Care.

Modern Techniques for Investigation and Treatment.

Good Public Relation.

Facilities for Total Patients Satisfaction

TYPES OF OPD

Two types of OP services-

1.Centralized outpatient services.

All services are provided in a compact area which includes all diagnostic and therapeutics facilities being provided in the same place.

2.Decentralized outpatient services.

Services are provided in the respective department.

Based on type of patients-

1.General outpatient.

All the patients other than emergencies report directly to the patient.

2.Emergency outpatient.

A person is given emergency medical care for a condition that is a real or perceived emergency.

3.Referred outpatient.

A person referred to an OPD by his attending medical/dental practitioner for a specific diagnostic/treatment procedure.

IMPORTANCE OF OPD

1.The OPD contributes towards reducing mortality and morbidity, therefore, provides a stepping stone to health promotion and disease prevention.

2.It also reduces the number of admission to a hospital to raise the threshold of admission.

3.It ensures that only those patients are admitted who really need inpatient care.