HCA Chapter 8 Test Questions and Answers

HCA Chapter 8 Test Questions and Answers Introduction - ANSWER --Inpatient requires overnight stay in a facility whereas outpatient doesn't require stay at all -Hospital 1) Institution with at least six beds 2) Delivers services including diagnostics and treatment 3) Must be licensed, have an organized staff, and provide continuous nursing services under the supervision of registered nurses; have an identifiable governing body that is legally responsible for the conduct of the hospital, a chief executive with continuous responsibility for the operation of the hospital, maintenance of medical records on each patient, pharmacy services maintained in the institution and supervised by a registered pharmacist, and food service operations that meet the nutritional and therapeutic requirements of the patients 4) Has its construction and operation governed by federal laws; state health department regulations; city ordinances; standards of the Joint Commission; and national codes for building, fire protection, and sanitation 5) Evolved from institutions of refuge for homeless and the poor 6) Ultra modern facilities providing advanced services inpatient days - ANSWER -a night spent in the hospital by a patient days of care - ANSWER -cumulative number of patient days over a given period of time -per 1,000 population over the course of 1 year reflect utilization of inpatient services 2 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. discharges - ANSWER -patients who have received inpatient services -because babies born in the hospital aren't included in admission, discharges provide a more accurate count of inpatients served by a hospital -deaths hospital capacity - ANSWER -average number of beds -average size of a community hospital was approximately 160 beds in 2013 Average length of stay (ALOS) - ANSWER -divide the total days of care (average daily census) over the total number of discharges -hospital access and utilization comparative data average daily census - ANSWER -total days of care (average number of inpatients receiving care each day in a hospital) -often used to define occupancy of inpatient beds in hospitals and other inpatient facilities occupancy rate - ANSWER -divide the average daily census for a given period of time over hospital capacity -hospitals can compare them against industry benchmarks (in a competitive environment, facilities with higher occupancy rates are considered more successful than those with lower occupancy rates) Five functions in the evolution of hospitals in the U.S. - ANSWER --Primitive institution of social welfare -Distinct institutions of care for the sick 1) voluntary hospitals: nonprofit hospitals 3 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. -Organized institutions of medical practice 1) Improvements in hygiene, advanced medical care, and surgical services made hospitals more acceptable to the middle and upper classes 2) charitable institutions -Advanced medical training and research 1) physicians receive most of their training in hospitals 2) collaboration between hospitals and universities -Consolidated systems of health services delivery 1) Multihospital systems formed through mergers and acquisitions; hospital systems diversified into nonacute services, such as outpatient centers, home health care, long-term care, and subacute care; and some hospitals affiliated with networks through contractual arrangements Hospital Trends - ANSWER --beds: Trends in the number of U.S. community hospital beds per 1,000 resident population -visits: Ratio of hospital outpatient visits to inpatient days for all U.S. hospitals, ; hospital admissions and average lengths of stay (decreased in federal hospitals, decreased then increased in state/local government hospitals, decreased then remained constant in nonprofit hospitals, and decreased then increased in for profit hospitals) 4 | P a g e Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved. -size: Breakdown of U.S. community hospitals by size, 2013 -change in occupancy rates from 1960 to 2013: decrease Expansion Phase: Late 1800s to Mid 1980s - ANSWER --increase in beds; new beds built=availability ensured use -Advances in medical science -Development of specialized technology -Advances in medical education -Development of professional nursing -Growth of private health insurance -Role of government 1) Hill-Burton Act of 1946: provided federal grants to states for the construction of new community hospitals, including non-federal and short-stay hospitals, which lead to the expansion of hospitals 2) Public health insurance: creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965 increased the number of hospital beds and their utilization as government-funded health insurance became available to a large number of elderly and poor Americans Factors Affecting Hospital Employment - ANSWER --Hospitals accounted for the largest number of jobs in the healthcare industry in 2013 1) Workforce represented roughly 39% of total healthcare employment