Health and Healthcare Summary

Updated: 03.07.2020

Health and Healthcare Summary

Healthy lifestyle: good nutrition and clean water, adequate rest and enough sleep, regular physical activity

Hospital types: general hospital, district hospital, clinic, specialized hospital, teaching hospital, university hospital

Departments (wards): anesthesiology and resuscitation, burn center, cardiology, ER (emergency room), critical care and ICU, diagnostic imaging, gastroenterology, gynecology and obstetrics, hematology, infection control, internal medicine, nephrology, neurology, nuclear medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedics and traumatology, oncology, plastic surgery and surgery, radiology, rehabilitation medicine and physiotherapy, renal unit, rheumatology, stomatology, urology

Outpatient department: for less than 24 hours, ambulatory care

Inpatient department: for more than 24 hours, clinical departments, inpatient care

Hospital staff: physicians, surgeons, nurses and allied health practitioners

Doctors: study medical school, GP (general practitioner), head physician

Nurses: registered staff nurses, ward manager or head nurse

Allied health proffesionals: surgical technologist, midwife, paramedic, psychologist, physical therapist, ward orderly, porter, receptionist

Health and Healthy Lifestyle

Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being, the absence of disease. Key factors to influence health include physical environment, education and literacy, income, working conditions, genetics and health policy and healthcare service availability. Lifestyle is the most important factor for Western countries, bad personal decisions lead to diseases of affluence. The environment, on the other hand, is a key factor in poor developing countries, where people have little control over the quality of food, water and air. The third factor is genetic make-up, which is thought to influence about 10% of physical and mental health.

Healthy Lifestyle

To stay healthy, people should take care of themselves physically, mentally and socially. This means people should do their best to have a healthy lifestyle, live in a healthy area and have healthy relationships.
          Healthy food and water are the main factors of healthy lifestyle, including the amount of food  and water consumed. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking enough clean water is the best way to maintain healthy body weight. A healthy diet should have all the important nutrients, people should avoid processed food, food additives and dietary supplements. Also, people should drink clean water moderately, when they are thirsty or when their lips are dry.
          Exercising is another key factor for staying healthy in the Western society. People used to be more active in the past and it is important to maintain physical fitness in order to stay healthy. Sport leads to overall wellness, because many individuals choose to exercise outdoors and socialize during fitness activities. For people with a sedentary lifestyle, even small exercise such as housework or walking can make a difference and reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems and stress.
          Sleep is another important factor of health. Humans restore themselves during sleep, when the metabolic rates decrease and metabolic waste products are removed from the body. Studies suggest that sleep deprivation may impair the ability to heal and it affects the immune system.

Healthcare

Healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery or cure of disease or injury. It is delivered by health professionals, physicians, nurses and other specialists. It includes primary, secondary and tertiary care and public health. Access to healthcare may vary across countries. Healthcare systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations.
          Health insurance covers the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. It can provide coverage for the payments of benefits as a result of sickness or injury. There are many ways how this is organized, many countries have a social health insurance system and a mandatory insurance.
          Sick leave, also called paid sick days or sick pay, is time off from work for health and safety reasons. It guarantees paid time off to stay home when sick or caring for sick family members. It is a statutory requirement in many nations.
          A sick note, sometimes called a medical certificate, is a written statement from a physician that serves as documentation that an employee is unfit for work or as evidence of a health condition. It can be required to obtain health benefits from an employer and for tax purposes. Also, specific health criteria or medical history are required for certain jobs.

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized medical and nursing staff and medical equipment.
          The most common are general hospitals and district hospitals, which are the major health care facilities in the region. These hospitals typically have an emergency department to treat urgent health problems, a large number of beds for intensive care and additional beds for patients who need long-term care. A clinic is usually a medical facility smaller than a hospital, some can be highly specialized and some are polyclinics that provide general treatments.
          On the other hand, there are specialized hospitals such as trauma centres, rehabilitation hospitals, children's hospitals, geriatric hospitals, and hospitals for dealing with specific medical needs. Thanks to their specialized staff and equipment, these can reduce health care costs compared to general hospitals.
          Teaching hospitals and university hospitals combine assistance to people with teaching to medical students and nurses and it is usually involved in medical research. Students included in these programs usually have several years of internship.

Hospitals consist of departments, traditionally called wards. A large hospital consists of many clinical departments, but most hospitals have an ER (emergency room) and several other inpatient departments. Some hospitals may also have specialized units such as maternity ward or ICU (intensive care unit). Common support units include pharmacy, pathology and radiology.
          Many hospitals also have specialized acute services, such as a trauma centre, burn unit, surgery and urgent care. There are also psychiatric hospitals, sometimes called asylums, and mental health units, which are hospitals and wards specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders.
          An outpatient department is a department for patients who stay in the hospital for less than 24 hours. Patients go there for their treatment, therapy and sometimes minor surgery, this provided care is called ambulatory care. These departments are usually located on the ground floor or in an easily accessible building. There is usually a reception, a waiting room and an admission room or consulting room. Some specialized departments have outpatient units for patient checkups.
          An inpatient department, sometimes called clinical departments, can sometimes be further separated into several wards and units. There, patients are admitted to stay overnight for treatment, this can last from 24 hours to an indeterminate time, from days to sometimes until death. Treatment provided is called inpatient care. The admission to the hospital involves the production of an admission note, the leaving of the hospital is officially termed discharge and it involves a corresponding discharge note. These departments include rooms for patients, day rooms, bathrooms and kitchenettes, and can provide also education for children and occupational therapy. Some hospitals have chronic treatment units such as psychiatry wards, rehabilitation services and physical therapy departments.
          Support units provide additional services, such a dispensary or a pharmacy. On the non-medical side, there are records departments, release of information departments, information managements, clinical engineering (biomed), facilities management, plant operations or maintenance, dining services and security departments.

A planned admission depends on many factors, including the importance of the treatment and the length of the waiting list of patients that also need it. Before, a general practitioner usually sends the patient to a specialist who assesses the patient's condition and sometimes recommends further tests. Depending on the urgency, the patient is then admitted to the hospital for planned treatment or surgery. Sometimes, patients are admitted without any previous appointments because of an emergency or a life-threatening condition.
          All patients have to fill in the patient's record, also called medical record or medical chart. An admission note is the part that documents the patient's initial status, reason for being admitted for inpatient care and the initial instructions for care. The medical record consists of general information about the patient (name, date of birth, gender, contact person) and his health (allergies, medication and medical history) and also the name of his general practitioner. Before the patient is discharged from the hospital, doctors consider his current state, place of residence and the support available. The inpatient care is formally ended by a discharge note. Sometimes, patients are further monitored by follow-up appointments after the discharge.

The act of performing surgery is also called a surgical procedure or operation and a surgeon is a person who practices surgery. A surgical team is made up of a surgeon, surgeon's assistant, anesthetist, circulating nurse and surgical technologist.
          Elective surgery is done to correct a non-life-threatening condition and it is carried out at the patient's request. A semi-elective surgery must be done to avoid permanent disability or death, but can be postponed for a short time. Emergency surgery must be done promptly to save life or functional capacity. Incision is a cut made into the body during surgery.

A medical device or medical equipment is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. In emergency situations, it can be an everyday object. In other cases, they must be proved safe and effective before they can be used. The design of medical devices constitutes a major segment of the field of biomedical engineering. Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis and for monitoring or treatment of medical conditions.
          Treatment equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers and surgical machines. Life support equipment is used to maintain patient bodily functions and includes ventilators, incubators and anesthetic and dialysis machines. Medical monitors allow medical staff to measure patient medical state, such ass vital signs, ECG, EEG and blood pressure. Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, such as ultrasound, MRI machines (magnetic resonance imaging), PET (positron emission tomography) and CT scanners (computed tomography), TI (tactile imaging), IRT (thermal imaging - infrared telescope) and X-ray machines.

Hospital Staff

Hospitals are staffed by professional physicians, surgeons, nurses and allied health practitioners. Many units have both a nursing and a medical director that serve as administrators for their respective disciplines within that specialty. For both doctors and nurses, the names of their position in their medical career can differ in different countries.

In the United Kingdom, the medical career grades are defined by the NHS (National Health Service) and the terms are also used in Ireland and Australia. The NHS modernised the medical training programme in 2005. All leading British medical schools are state-funded and courses generally last four to six years.
          Medical school starts with two years of pre-clinical training and two or three years of clinical training at a teaching hospital. After graduation, medical students enter paid employment as a foundation house officer to complete their first year of foundation trainig. They, they have a year of supervised work to obtain a full registration.
          After medical school, junior doctors enter the two-year long Foundation Programme and then they can specialize in one field. To become a GP (general practitioner - praktický lékař), a doctor must complete an 18 months-long course in a variety of hospital specialities and another 18 months in the General Practise Specialty Registrar.  Hospital doctors have to take exams to become specialty registrars and eventually consultants. Continuing medical education is now mandatory for all doctors.
          A foundation doctor, also called a house officer, is a junior doctor undertaking the two-year long postgraduate Foundation Programme. This is compulsory for all newly qualified medical practitioners. The purpose is to gain experience in a series of posts in a variety of specialties and healthcare settings. A foundation doctor has a provisional registration with the General Medical Council. It is equivalent to an internship in other countries.
          A specialty registrar works in a three-year specialty training programme. It is known as a training grade as they are supervised by senior doctors. This ensures necessary experience and qualification to be placed on the Genneral Medical Council's Specialist Register. Completing the course is awarded by a Certificate of Completion of Training.
          A speciality doctor, called housemen, staff grade or middle grade by the old system, are appointed to a permanent position after at least 6 years of experience. Their main duties are ward rounds, supervision of junior doctors, emergency operating and serving hospital shifts in outpatient departments.
          A consultant is a senior physician or surgeon in a hospital, with a completed specialist training. They have the ultimate responsibility for the care of the patients and they are on the Specialist Register. They lead a team of doctors in training.
          A head physician (primář), also called chief physician, senior consultant, or chief of medicine, is a senior management position at a hospital. They are in charge of medical matters and superior to all other doctors. Mostly, they are the most experienced doctors and they may be in charge of other professional groups and areas as well.

Department of Nursing
Nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, so they may recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Nurses develop a plan of care, working collaboratively with physicians, therapists, other team members and the patient and his family. Nurses also help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of the healthcare team.
          Nurses are responsible for patient care, the administer medicine and give injections, take blood, urine, temperature, pulse and blood pressure. They are in charge of bed making, changing of surgical dressing, patient washing, doing round and assisting doctors. The job demands great patience, responsibility and a lot of work.

In the United Kingdom, there are over 300 thousand nurses in a variety of settings and a range of specialties. To practise, all nurses must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
          Non-registered staff carry out a number of roles, often working in direct patient care. They must be supervised by a fully qualified registered nurse. A health assistant, also called nursing assistant, care assistant or clinical support worker, is an unregistered healthcare worker. Nursing associates focus on patient care, this job was introduced to reduce the growth in demand for registered nurses.
          Most ward nurses are registered nurses with a completed university degree. Staff nurses, also called general nurses or staffers of nursing, are the first grade of qualified nursing staff. They have clinical duties for a set group of patients. Senior staff nurses, also called staffer managers, are more senior and experienced. Nurse practitioners carry out care at an advanced practise level, they commonly work in primary care.
          The deputy ward manager (vrchní sestra), also called junior ward sister, or charge nurse, is responsible for the running of the ward and is responsible to the ward manager. The ward manager (staniční sestra), also called ward sister, charge nurse, nurse manager, or clinical ward nurse lead, is the nurse responsible for running a ward or unit and the administration. This nurse has budgetary control, employs staff, and is responsible for the local management. If there is a need to employ several nurses at a ward manager level, one of them acts as the senior ward manager, also called senior ward sister or senior charge nurse.
          There are also positions above the ward level. The clinical nurse manager, also called nurse lead, is responsible for an entire directorate or department, or alt least more than one ward. The nursing director, also called nurse matron or modern matron, is responsible for overseeing all nursing within a department or directorate.
          Clinical nurse specialists and clinical nurse consultants specialize in a particular area, such as intensive care, and they have extensive specialist knowledge and experience. A clinical nurse specialist provides clinical leadership and education for staff nurses working in their department. A nurse consultant is a higher level of nurse specialist, they are also active in research and publication activities.

Ward rounds are regular visits paid by medical staff to hospital inpatients under their care, in order to review their progress. The doctors ask the patients questions and the nurses report their data. This helps the doctors to decide further treatment.

Rapid response teams, also called medical emergency teams, high acuity teams or critical care outreach teams, are groups of designated hospital staff who quickly come to a patient's room if there is any indication that their condition is worsening. These teams often include a doctor, a nurse and a respiratory therapist. They are trained in early resuscitation interventions and advanced life support.

Allied health professionals are health care professionals that provide diagnostic, technical, therapeutic and support services in connection with healthcare.
          A healthcare technician, also called patient care technician, helps nurses with care and provides basic procedures. A surgical technologist, also called a scrub or operating technician, works as a part of the team delivering surgical care. A medical technologist, also called a medical laboratory scientist, performs analyses of body fluids and works in clinical laboratories. A pharmacy technician performs pharmacy-related functions in collaboration with a pharmacist.
          A midwife cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth. A lactation consultant specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding.
          A paramedic is a specialist who responds to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. A psychologist helps to diagnose and solve patient's problems by providing counseling.
          A physical therapist, also called a physiotherapist, helps to treat conditions and improve physical functions through rehabilitation. They help patients to address mobility issues and educate about exercise. An occupational therapist helps patients recover by developing meaningful activities.

         A ward orderly (sanitář), also called hospital porter or unlicensed assistive personnel, is a hospital attendant who assists staff, their duties are usually classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient. They can move equipment, furniture and patients around the hospital and take care of patient lifting and transport. A receptionist, also called a ward clerk, helps people with directions and makes arrangements, they are staffed at the ward reception desk.