What Makes a Hospital 'the Best Hospital'
Hospitals of today face a variety of challenges that force them to redefine the way they conduct business. There is a significant shift from focusing of the number of 'heads in beds' to delivering high quality, reliable care at affordable costs. This transition is based on the need to ensure that customers have dependable healthcare services whenever required.
Here are some of the characteristics that make a hospital 'the best hospital':
Coordinated care
Healthcare systems should be able to provide coordinated care throughout the continuum of care including outpatient office visits to inpatient stays and post acute rehabilitation. They should develop standardized care paths for some of the most common conditions that are treated at their hospital. Unnecessary processes and procedures must be eliminated and the patients must experience a seamless transition from one department to another until they are finally discharged.
Comprehensive care
There are some hospitals who focus on core specialties, and some that provide comprehensive care. The advantage of a comprehensive care unit is that the patient does not have to be moved to another hospital or health care organization due to unavailability of certain services. A comprehensive care unit can provide all the required services under one roof.
Openness to technology
Technology cannot be ignored in today's world. Hospitals that openly embrace technology and implement new and sophisticated ways to treat patients are better equipped for success. New age treatment methods such as robotic surgeries have better success rates. Other than that, hospitals also need to implement advanced technology information systems that can readily provide clinical information to manage the hospital efficiently. So, openness to technology is one of the factors that contribute to building a highly successful healthcare unit.
Efficiency
Hospitals should be able to provide standardized care by eliminating all the unnecessary processes and