HOSPITAL ADMIN CERTIFICATION

A Hospital Administrator has one of his duties assigned to keeping and updating the medical records relating to the patient and this comes under Medical Records Management. 

PURPOSE OF THE HEALTH RECORDS

All information about a patient's health, ill health, treatment over a period of time and patient status at discharge should contain in a good complete health record. Health records are kept on various grounds and they are in relative to the patient. The main among them are 

1. RECORDS FOR COMMUNICATION 

Health records are kept initially for communication between persons responsible for the care of the patients present and future needs. They may be consultants, physicians, surgeons, occupational therapists, obstetricians, nurses, physiotherapist , medical social workers, laboratory technologists, dieticians,  medical students, radiologists, etc. Medical record staff will have access to the record to ensure that all documents are appropriately filed and organized and may also perform quality audits as requested by the facility or other agency. This may be done as the address and other details of the patient are obtained from the records and the patient or his relatives or friends could be contacted by the hospital on any purpose related to his health or as a reminder to do something on a timely basis. 

2. RECORDS FOR TREATMENT CONTINUITY OF PATIENT

The patient may be readmitted to the same or another hospital or visit a clinic where all his past medical history should be available for assessment in the occurrence  of their current problem. It is vital that the health care professionals, who is responsible for the patient as a whole, should receive information about a patient's hospitalisation as soon as possible after the patient is discharged from hospital. The main function of the health record department in a hospital or clinic, in this context, is as a service area, that is, medical records should be produced for patient care at all times and as quickly as possible. Also, discharge summaries and letters must be processed so that people outside the hospital may be informed of the patient's progress and their continued management after discharge.

3. RECORDS FOR EVALUATION OF PATIENT CARE

In any setting in which an individual puts the responsibility for their health and well-being into the hands of others, there should be some mechanism that enables evaluation of the standard of care being given. In some countries, hospital medicine is evaluated by an 'accreditation' system. Surveys of each hospital are made and hospitals given 'accreditation' by a Board for a limited number of years, depending on the standard which they reach. Also, in some countries, the health record services of a hospital must meet predetermined standards. The health records are first and foremost of value in the present and future treatment of the patient.

4. RECORDS FOR MEDICO- LEGAL PURPOSES

Occasionally, health or medical records are used to substantiate substandard care and are then used to bring a lawsuit against a health professional in court in case of professional negligence or malpractice The record also, however, protects the patients by documenting all injuries and diseases or conditions in the record so that there is no confusion about what happened to the patient.

CONCLUSION

A certificate in Hospital Administration Kannur is a great career choice. Gain experience through internships in hospitals, clinics, or healthcare organizations. Start in roles like administrative assistant, medical office manager, or financial coordinator in healthcare settings. After gaining experience he can move into roles like department manager, healthcare consultant, or assistant hospital administrator.