Question: What is the significance of an emergency plan in hospitals?
– Dr Saxena, Raipur
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| Tarun Katiyar |
Answer: An attitude of “it can’t happen here” is prevalent in many. But, the lack of an emergency plan could lead to severe losses such as multiple casualties and possible financial collapse of the hospital. Since emergencies will occur, pre-planning is necessary to prevent disaster. An urgent need for rapid decisions, shortage of time, and lack of resources and trained personnel can lead to chaos during an emergency. Time and circumstances in an emergency mean that normal channels of authority and communication cannot be relied upon to function routinely. The stress of the situation can lead to poor judgement, resulting in severe losses.In addition, an emergency plan promotes safety awareness and shows the organisation’s commitment to the safety of workers/patients/visitors.
Question: What should be the design considerations and provisioning of beds in hospital ICU?
– Kumar, Administrator, North India
Answer: The basics concept of ICU design is ‘maximum surveillance and easy access to patients’. The patient is never compromised. All beds in this unit are to be arranged in glazed cubicles as general ward with a centrally located nursing station. Bed spaces per cubicle have to be 10.5 sq m. Each cubicle should be provided with overhead railing and curtain so that it can be screened off if need be. Each bed has to be provided with minimum four power points (two five amp and two fifteen amp) with proper earthing. Adequate air conditioning (10-12 air changes per hour, 16-27 degree temperature and 60-70 per cent humidity) of the complete unit is a must. Stand by generator connection to ICU is essential. Ward has to be adequately illuminated with separate control for each light. It is preferable to have wall mounted cardiac monitor, piped oxygen supply and separate suction machine for each bed. Conductive floors are preferable because lots of electrical equipment are required to be used.
Question: What is the authorisation for 200 bed hospitals ICU?
– Vivek, Pune
Answer: Hospitals with 200 or more beds are authorised an ICU on the following scale:
- Not to exceed two per cent of the total authorised beds.
- Beds in ICU not to be less than eight to justify its existence.
- Hospitals having bed strength of 200-399 will draw excess of two per cent beds from acute medical and acute surgical wards.
Question: What are the steps in equipment planning for a new hospital?
– Swati, Bengaluru
Ansewr: Healthcare technology management professional’s functions are:
- Equipment Control & Asset Management
- Work Order Management
- Data Quality Management
- Personnel Management
- Quality Assurance n Patient Safety
- Risk management n Hospital Safety Programs
Question: What is the difference between medical marketing and medical practice management?
– Shalini, Chennai
Answer: They are related, but they have quite different roles in practice.
Broadly defined, Medical Practice Management embraces operational matters such as coding, payer selection, accounts receivable, staffing, HIPAA, software, cost cutting, and about a million other issues that are a part of the day-to-day activities of the business/ practice.
In its purest form, Medical Marketing is about building a positive reputation, getting your phone to ring, getting people to come in for a first appointment and converting them into patients.
Practice Management is largely about the wheels that turn inside the practice. And Practice Marketing is the planned process of communications that goes on with individuals who, for the most part, are not yet aware of or part of the practice.
Question: What is the ideal nurse-to-patient ratio?
– Dr Vijay, Thane
Answer: Patient ratios are based on matrices developed in accordance with local and national benchmarks for ratios as well as established discipline guidelines.
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