Health Sciences Environment

Academic Health Sciences Centers - Organization

Administrative Structure: (typical)

Vice President, Medical Affairs
Board, Health Sciences Deans

Components:

Schools

Medicine (Dean is also Vice President for Medical Affairs at UW)

Basic Sciences Depts.

e.g. anatomy, biochemistry, etc.

Clinical Depts.

e.g. surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics

Nursing

e.g. Parent and Child, Physiological Nursing

Pharmacy

e.g. Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy Practice

Dentistry

e.g. Orthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Public Health and Community Medicine

e.g. Biostatistics, Epidemiology

Social Work

UW Academic Medical Center -- Hospitals and Clinics

UW Medical Center

Harborview Medical Center - Owned by County, managed by University

Affiliated Teaching Hospitals and Institutions:

Children's Hospital and Medical Center

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Veterans' Administration Hospital (Seattle)

UW Health Sciences Center - REGIONAL education and clinical care missions (Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming)

Hospitals - Organization and Management

Hospital Administrator - usually not a physician

Financial/Data Systems

Data Processing
Accounting
Billing

Nursing Services

Responsibility for in-patient areas

Medical Staff - Medical Director - Physician administrator

Outpatient areas

Outpatient clinics - e.g. ambulatory surgi-centers
Emergency departments - types:

Highest level - Level 1 - tertiary trauma center (e.g. Harborview)
Basic emergency facility w. physician in hospital and specialists on call.
Standby emergency services
Referral emergency facility - no physician on-call
State-wide trauma system and information registry

Ancillary services (in-patient and out-patient)

e.g. laboratory services, radiology, physicial therapy, inhalation therapy, anesthesiology, EKG, EEG

Environmental support services

e.g. linen services, housekeeping, maintenance

Patient support services

e.g. dietician, nutritionist, social worker

Evaluating and Ensuring Continuity Care

Medical Records

Purpose: to document the course of the patient's illness and treatment during a particular period and during any subsequent period as an inpatient or outpatient

Quality Assurance

ongoing process to measure and evaluate the professional services rendered to patients
PSRO - Professional Standards Review Organization

Monitors quality and appropriateness of hospital care rendered to Medicare/Medicaid patients

Total Quality Management

Risk Management

Continuing Education

Library

Accreditation - Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Sets standards and accredits health care organizations
Teaching hospitals -- have special responsibilities and relationships

Key reference tools:

American Hospital Association: AHA Guide to the Health Care Field: A guide to United States Hospitals, Networks, Health Care Systems, Alliances, Health Organizations, Agencies and Providers. Health Books - WX 22 AA1 A53 1999
American Hospital Association

Sherrilynne Fuller, PhD

Professor

Biomedical and Health Informatics

School of Medicine and

Information School and

Director, Health Sciences Libraries

University of Washington 35-7155

Seattle, Washington 98195

206-543-5531

206-543-3389 (FAX)

sfuller@u.washington.edu

Rev. 01/12/06