5.

Functions of the Hospitals:

In general the functions of the hospitals are:

a. Providing patient care. (curative or preventive. Inpatients and out
patients. Primary, secondary or tertiary)
b. Acts as a training medium for all health professionals like
physicians, nurses and pharmacists.
c. Medical Research.
d. Public health and health promotion
e. Provides diagnosis and treatment of diseases to both in patients and
out patients.
f. Provides facilities for hospitalization.
g. Acts as immunization center to prevent diseases.

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4. Hospital’s goals:

a. The common goal is to restore and maintained good health of the

people who are coming to the hospitals for their relief from pain,
suffering and diseases.

b. To disseminate medical and pharmaceutical knowledge by providing

and interchange of information among hospital pharmacists and with
members of allied specialties and professions.

c. To assure a high quality of professional practice through the

establishment and maintenance of standards of professional ethics,
education and attainments and through the promotion of economic
welfare.
d. Provides advices in different matters like family planning, improve
quality of life in chronic patients like AIDS and rehabilitation.
e. Educate the people.
f. Lowering the incidence of diseases by prognosis, detection,
treatment and advices.

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6. Organization of the hospital:

15:59:47 4
• Departments:
1. Surgery: (Hospital, department or ward).
There are diff. types of surgical departments in the hospital:
cardio-thoracic surgery, pediatric surgery, neurosurgery,
plastic surgery and general surgery.
2. Obstetrics and Gynecology: mainly related to female patients,
Gynecology is dealing with female reproductive system while
(obstetrics) is dealing with antenatal period (during
pregnancy) and neonatal (new born baby care).
3. Medicine: (internal medicine) where the diseases are
generally treated with medicines.(HBT, D.M, Jaundice,
pneumonia….etc).
4. Medical specialties:
• Pediatric dep. Communicable disease dep.

• Pulmonology dep. Cardiology dep.

• Neurology dep. Nephrology dep.

• Oncology dep. Dermatology dep.

• Endocrinology dep. Psychiatry dep.

Intensive Care Unit:
ICU or special care unit is a special facility set up by most hospitals in
order to care for critically ill or injured patients.
It has equipment to treat any possible emergency and is staffed by
specially trained doctors and nurses.
Some hospitals have special ICU’s devoted to the care of patients who
have special problems (coronary care unit, burn units).
Alternatives to inpatients care: (outpatient treatment programs)
• eg. Hemophiliac Home Care; (1) instructional course (education
course for patient and family members to help patient to avoid
complication of his/her disease) and (2) supplies of blood products,
needles, syringes….etc

• Dialysis facilities; has developed as a less expensive alternative to

inpatient dialysis, known as limited day care facilities
Associated Medical Services:
• Paramedical staff help medical staff for diagnosis and
treatment of the diseases. They are;
1. Nursing Services; nursing care involves health promotion,
rehabilitation, counseling and emotional support as well as
cure of disease.
2. Pathology and Biochemistry Services; tests for blood, urine,
stool for presence of pathogens and biochemical parameters
like sugar, urea……etc
3. Radiology; x-rays, radiotherapy and handling
radiopharmaceuticals, modern facilities like CAT scan, MRI,
ultrasound.
4. Blood Bank; important services.
5. Anesthesia Services
6. Pharmaceutical Services; supply of drugs and surgical tools.
7. Medico-social Services; The role of the Medical Social
Worker is to assist patients and families resolve any social,
practical or emotional difficulties that impact on their ability
to cope with their illness.
8. Central Sterile Services Dept.( infection prevention and
control); supply all type of sterile items like syringes, needles,
surgical tools…..etc
9. Medical Record Services
10. Dietary Services
6. Hospital Pharmacy
• The department (support service) provides Pharmaceutical products
and Pharmaceutical services in a hospital which is under the
direction of a professionally competent, legally qualified pharmacist,
and from which all medications are supplied to the nursing units and
other services, where special prescriptions are filled and dispensed
for patients in the hospital, where prescriptions are filled and
dispensed for ambulatory patients and out-patients, where narcotic
and other prescribed drugs are dispensed, where injectable
preparations should be prepared and sterilized, and where
professional supplies are often stocked and dispensed.

• Hospital pharmacy may be defined as that department of the hospital

which deals with procurement, storage, compounding, manufacturing,
distribution, dispensing,, testing and packaging of drugs.
Pharmacy Department :

The pharmacy department has the responsibility for selecting,

purchasing, compounding, storing and dispensing all drugs and
medications for in- patients and out-patients.

The pharmacy should be under the supervision of registered pharmacist.

The American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) stipulates

professional standards such as minimum qualification for directors of
pharmacy, guidelines for medicine information, policy development,
distribution roles, operation management and research pharmacist’s
role.

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• In Australia, hospital pharmacist perform clinical and distribution
services, education, research, administration and quality management

• In other countries, hospital pharmacist manage inventory and its

associated risks, provide clinical services, manage human resources,
facility and equipment and develop and implement institutional drug
policies.

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