Hospital Reception Service

Reception Service

• Reception personnel should be stationed close to the main gate to direct patients or visitors to the appropriate location in the facility.
• Reception staff should be knowledgeable of the services provided by the hospital, the staff who provide services, and the layout of the hospital.
• Reception staff should ascertain the following from each patient:
  • Is the patient an emergency?
  • Is the patient a laboring mother?
  • Is the patient having an appointment for a follow-up clinic?
  • Is the patient having an appointment for admission?
  • Is the patient a private patient?
• The reception staff is directly responsible (accountable) to the outpatient director.

Liaison Service

• Liaison service is vital for effective communication and sustainable smooth flow of patients.
• Liaison officers should have special training for the position.
• The hospital should provide liaison services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year.
• The liaison service should manage hospital bed occupancy (bed management).
• The liaison service should facilitate:
  • Emergency and non-emergency (elective) admission
  • Social support to the emergency, inpatient and outpatient case teams
  • Referral service
• The liaison service should:
  • Coordinate the overall referral activities
  • Record and report the referral activities to facility management
  • Compile, analyze, and interpret data to improve the referral service
  • Take part in the quality assurance programs of the referral system
  • Participate in regular review meetings within and outside the health facility

Referrals Service

• Hospitals should establish a Referral Protocol that outlines the criteria for making a referral to another facility.
• The Referral Protocol should be known and adhered to by all relevant staff.
• Hospitals should establish a Referrals Service Directory that lists facilities to/from which patient can be referred or received.
• The contact details of each facility in the Referral Network should be documented.
• The criteria for receiving/referring patients to each facility should also be documented and agreed between all facilities participating in the Network.

Discharge Process

• The hospital should establish a written protocol for patient discharge.
• The hospital should design and own a discharge summary and mechanism of handling medical records afterwards.
• The decision for discharge should be made by the treating physician, who should complete a discharge summary.
• The first copy of the discharge summary should be given to the patient, while the second copy should be documented in the Medical Record.
• If the patient was referred from another facility, the discharging physician should also complete the feedback section of the referral paper.