There are different ways to classify hospitals. A single hospital may fall into more than one class. Broadly, the hospitals are classified based on clinical, non-clinical, and medicinal systems and the basis of size and cost.
Clinical Hospitals
The word “clinical” refers to the treatment of a
disease in human beings. Different types of diseases need different modes and
means of treatment. This type of classification is dependent based on diagnosis
and treatment. It is further sub-divided based on specialty and length of stay.
Medicine:
These are general-purpose hospitals that provide
treatment other than a surgical hospitals.
There cannot be a margin between the types of treatment to be provided.
A surgeon can advise about treatment with drugs and a physician can perform
surgery if required. In the world of specialization there can be different
types of the hospital providing specialized care for a particular type of
diseases:
General Hospital:
Where what is called a “family physician” treats or advises the patients.
Pediatrics hospital:
Where special care for children is taken.
Communicable disease hospitals:
Which have adequate space to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and take
care of the patient with such diseases.
Mental hospitals or psychiatric diseases
hospitals: Which have facilities to house, treat and
rehabilitate patients with mental illness.
Drug-addiction rehabilitation hospitals: These
attempts to make the patients addicted to narcotics.
Dental hospital:
Where care and treatment are done for diseases of teeth.
Cancer hospital:
Where oncotherapeutics and chemotherapy are given to cancer patients. Apart from the above-mentioned types of
hospitals, there may be different hospitals of different specialties for
example skin hospitals, kidney hospitals, eye hospitals, family planning hospitals,
cosmetic surgery hospitals, etc.
Surgery (Surgical Hospitals):
This is
specialized to perform surgical operations. In other words, they have operation
theatres and surgeons. There are different types of surgical hospitals such
as:
Gynecological:
i.e. related to the female reproductive system. This is usually attached to a maternity
hospital.
Orthopedic:
i.e. related to bone fractures.
Otolaryngological:
i.e. related to ear, nose, and throat surgery.
Cardiothoracic:
i.e. related to surgery of the heart, lung, etc. These days open heart surgery,
coronary by-pass surgery, angiography, and angioplasty are common in this type
of hospital.
General Surgery:
i.e. surgery of any kind.
Neurological:
i.e. having facilities for surgery of the brain and spinal cord.
Kidney hospital:
i.e. this type of hospital is involved in kidney transplantation and blood or
peritoneal dialysis services.
Maternity:
Which is specialized to provide obstetrics (i.e.
dealing with child birth) and gynecological (i.e. related to the female
reproductive system) services along with antenatal (during pregnancy) and
neonatal (new born child) care.
Paediatric:
Hospitals treating the disease of children. Based on the
length of stay, a hospital may provide short-term stay (less than 30 days),
long-term stay (more than 30 days in case of chronic diseases), and custodial
stay (for psychiatric and mentally retarded patients).
Non-clinical Hospital
This type of classification is dependent on the
ownership of the hospital which may be of two types:
Public Ownership:
Public hospitals may be governed by the;
Central Government,
e.g. Railway hospital, Defence Hospital, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi, P.G. Institute of Medical Sciences at Pondicherry, Lucknow,
or Chandigarh.
State Government,
e.g. Civil hospital at district headquarters, Sassoon Hospital, Pune, J. J.
Hospital, Mumbai.
Local Self Government,
these hospitals are run by municipalities or corporations, e.g. BMC Hospital,
Bhagwati Hospital in Mumbai, and N.D.M.C. Hospital, in New Delhi.
Private Ownership:
These are run by the following organization: Trusts: The Board of Trustees manage the
affairs, e.g., Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.
Religious Bodies:
Cristian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, Ram Krishna Mission Hospital,
Calcutta.
Limited Companies:
They are governed by public limited companies, where the public subscribes to
the share capital, e.g. Medinova Centres, Baroda, Apollo Hospital Ltd., Chennai,
and New Delhi, Batra Hospital, New Delhi, Escorts Heart Research Institute and
Hospital, New Delhi, Modi Hospital, Modi Nagar.
Medicinal Based Hospital
In India, apart from the Allopathic system of
medicine, other systems such as; Homoeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani, and Naturopathy
are also followed. Hence, there could be a classification of the hospital based
on a system of medicine such as; Allopathic hospital, Homoeopathic hospital,
Unani hospital, and Naturopathy hospital. These hospitals may again be sub-classified
according to the clinical basis and non-clinical basis of classification as mentioned
above.
Allopathic Hospitals:
e.g. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.
Ayurvedic Hospitals:
in Jammu and Trivandrum (a city in Kerela).
Homoeopathic Hospital:
e.g. Hamdard Dawakhana, Delhi, Unani Dawakhana, Aligarh.
Acupuncture Hospital:
Guru Kripa acupuncture research center and holistic care center, Amritsar,
Punjab.
Naturalopathy (Yoga) Hospital:
e.g. hospitals running at Lucknow and Pune.
Size-based Hospitals
Hospitals can be classified based on size:
Large Hospitals:
(Beds 1000 and above), e.g. J. J. Group of Hospitals in Mumbai have an intake
of 1400 beds, K. E. M., Mumbai has 1600 beds. Other large hospitals are A. I.
I. M. S., New Delhi, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi; G. T. B. Hospital, Delhi,
etc.
Medium Hospitals: (Beds
between 500-1000), Bombay Hospital, Mumbai has 700 beds.
Small Hospitals: (Beds
between 100-500), Beach Candy Hospital, Mumbai has a bed capacity of 130 beds, Jaslok
Hospital, Mumbai has 320 beds, P. D. Hinduja National Hospital, Mahim, Mumbai
has a bed capacity of 175 beds.
Very small Hospitals:
(Beds less than 100).
Cost-based Hospitals
Elite Hospitals: Jaslok
and Hinduja are run for the privilege. They are a symbol of high-tech medical development.
The room rates vary and deluxe rooms are equipped with refrigerators, TV, and telephone.
Excepting the medical care, they are like five-star hotels. They are,
therefore, often called five-star hospitals. But even these elite institutions
reserve a particular percentage of their accommodation. Jaslok has reserved 25
percent for the poorer section and 30 percent at half the rates. Out of 680
beds of Mumbai Hospital, 315 are free and 112 are subsidized. Batra Hospital, New Delhi, and Escorts Heart
Research Institute and Hospital, New Delhi, are also expensive hospitals.
Budget Hospitals: These
are meant for moderate-budget and low-budget users, e.g. civil hospitals, corporation
hospitals, etc.
Private Hospitals/Nursing Homes: These
medical centers are operated generally in all the metropolitan cities and towns
in India by either a single or a group of private practitioners or a husband-wife
team. They are proprietary or partnership concerns, general nursing homes with
facilities for general surgery.
Some nursing homes are specialized for cardiac pediatric,
orthopedic or ophthalmological. There is
a demand to regulate private nursing homes by a suitable enactment. Though, the
treatment in nursing homes is very costly.
Teaching Hospitals:
Hospitals can be teaching hospitals or research centers to which a medical
college is attached. They can be integrated hospitals, where many medical and
surgical departments are integrated or alternative systems of medicine are
integrated. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Guru TEG Bahadur
Hospital, New Delhi, P. G. Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh, J. N.
Medical College, Aligarh, etc. are the teaching hospitals.
There are in-plant hospitals, run as a part of a business
organization for the benefit of its employees and the immediate community
surrounding it. There is no system of accreditation for hospitals here in India
as it prevails in other advanced countries. The time has come now to take steps
for a rating of hospitals on the criteria of service quality, service
availability, patient satisfaction, and perceived image.