OPD Full Form Name
Full Form of OPD :
Out Patient Department
OPD Full Form is Out
Patient Department. OPD is an essential part of a hospital designed for
outpatients to meet with the doctors and consultants in their clinics. It
normally has consulting rooms that are facilitated with treatment tools, rooms,
nurse stations, waiting area, etc. In general, OPDs do not have facilities to
admit a patient. This is more of a consulting place for small ailments and
related issues. Treatment at OPD does not cost much as it does not involve any
complicated procedure.
OPD usually includes following
treatments like Wellness or prevention programs like weight-loss programs,
counseling for various health issues, A diagnosis like scans, lab tests, x
rays, etc., Treatments like chemotherapy or minor surgeries that do not require
major medical attention. Rehabilitation like physical therapies and
drug/alcohol rehabilitation, etc.
OPD Full Form – Additional
Information
Every individual needs medical
care at some point in life. However, it is not necessary to get admitted to a
hospital if the nature of the health issue is not grave and can be treated
easily. Under such circumstances, the patient is treated in OPD or Out Patients
Department.
What is OPD?
Outpatient Department is the
department of the hospital where outpatients or patients that do not need
overnight stay as inpatients are checked and treated. This area is always
closer to the in / out area of the hospital and has other medical facilities
like pharmacy, X-ray, ECG, sonography / scan, pathological lab, waiting rooms,
treatment rooms, etc within its zone.
It is said that the OPD is the
mirror of the hospital and the impression that you form there reflects on the
image of that hospital. This is the most frequented area of the hospital, as
many patients come in for minor ailments or small surgeries that may require
only the day’s stay.
In an OPD, there are medical
services available to specialists too and they are available for consultation
with prior appointments or as per the doctor’s hospital visit schedules. This
is the place where the people come in the first contact with the hospital
staff, as usually most of the inpatient admissions are also done through the
OPD.
Since the first impression is the
last and lasting impression, it is imperative that the OPD staff project a good
image. They should be cordial, with a lot of patience to hear out the patient’s
medical history, be cheerful and extremely polite. They should be cooperative
and efficient enough to handle minor emergencies.
Functions of OPD
There are various objectives and
functions of OPD.
§ To provide
specialized medical consultation to the patients with the help of hospital
resources like X-ray, pathology lab, scanning, etc.
§ To perform
minor surgeries which do not need overnight hospitalization (surgery for
cataract, hernia, etc)
§ Promote health
care through health education to patients under post-operative care.
§ Provide medical
care after discharge and recommend follow-up care.
§ Offer
preventive health care like vaccination, polio dose, etc.
§ Facilitate
early diagnosis with specialist consultation and extend preventive, curative
and rehabilitative supervision.
§ To prepare
records of patients for future reference and analysis of their medical history.
§ To offer to
train to house physicians, nurses, medical students and lab technicians in
varied medical experiences.
§ To offer
counseling for family welfare, bringing up a healthy baby as well as family
planning and marriage counseling.
Even though it is not essential
for the outpatients to have an overnight stay in the hospital, there may be
some cases where it is deemed necessary such as cases of blood transfusion,
minor surgeries where the patient shows slow signs of recovery and needs to be
kept under observation, etc.
Particular preventive and normal
OPD services
A doctor’s duty is to educate the
people about health care as much as he undertakes the responsibility of
diagnosing and treating their ailments.
The services rendered by OPD are:
1. Walk –in services
for patient care.
2. Extending
modern techniques for diagnosis and cure.
3. Creating a
conducive environment for patient’s comfort.
4. Controlling
transmissible diseases by early detection (like VD, HIV, etc) and providing
protective measures.
5. Timely diagnosis
of non-infectious diseases and preventive measures of controlling them.
6. Counseling for
marriage and planned pregnancy as well as care tips for a healthy baby.
7. Well baby
clinic with provisions for antenatal care and immunization, etc.
8. Alertness about
infectious diseases and reporting it to health authorities to prevent further
spread.
9. Giving health
education to enlighten people about cleanliness and good habits.
10. Explain the
importance of balanced diet and nutrition for a healthy living.
It is important for every
individual to understand the finer issues involved in leading a fit life and be
stress, tension and disease free. The medical practitioners in the OPD educate
the patients to take care of their health, as they perform the task of healing
them. A well equipped OPD is that which has medical facilities and machines
needed for diagnosis (X-ray, scan, sonography) under one roof.
Working method of an OPD
There are two types of OPD
services – Centralized and Decentralized. Centralized services indicate that
the medical, as well as therapeutic facilities, are located in the same place
for easy and quick movement. Decentralized services mean such facilities are
provided in particular departments.
There are three categories of
outpatients – General, Emergency and Referred.
§ General
outpatients are the ones who come for normal, non-emergency consultation.
§ Emergency
outpatients are the ones in need of critical medical care or whose conditions
are diagnosed as an emergency.
§ Referred
outpatient is the one who has been referred to the OPD for a particular
detection or treatment procedure by his usual medical practitioner or dentist.
Under any circumstances, it is
the responsibility of the OPD and its staff to see that the patient is well
attended to and the best medical facility and support is extended to him. The
patient can be there for reasons like an X-ray, ultrasound procedure,
pathological facility or just consultation for sickness.
Normally, the reception and
registration area is where the outpatient is registered and his medical
background is noted for the reference of the consulting specialist. Then he is
directed to the particular section where the specialist equipped with
diagnostic machinery is ready to attend to him.
These registration details are
maintained in a database for future reference and the medical data helps in
analysis and treatment. This also gives an insight of the progress or otherwise
in patient’s condition, when the person comes on next visit.
Layout of an OPD
An OPD is the first place where a
person walks in when he visits a hospital. Thus, the OPD should be easily
accessible, close to the main gate and have proximity to the main road. There
should be ample scope for expansion of units as the need arises. The OPD should
be within the vicinity of technical facilities like radiology and pathological
lab. Each specialty examination room should be well equipped with relevant
machinery needed for the purpose.
An ideal consultation cum
examination room has a work desk, examination couch, chairs for waiting,
physician’s desk, revolving stool, wall mounted cabinets for files and
medicines, wash basin, instruments trolley and an x-ray viewing box. It also
helps to have the emergency equipment to revive the patient in case of sudden collapse.
The central public area of the
OPD is usually the registration and reception area. Since patients and
relatives wait here for a long time to complete various registration procedures
(subject to the rush in OPD), it is advisable to take care of their comforts
and basic needs.
Thus, it is essential to have a snack counter / canteen,
drinking water and washroom as well as adequate seating facility in the public
area. Along with examining facilities (pathology, radiology, ultrasound), there
should be a pharmacy to obtain medicines prescribed by the doctor. An OPD is a
place which is more frequented than the other departments of a hospital and,
therefore, it should be a place where a patient feels comfortable and assured.