HealthReferenceDepartmentType

Reference data entity for types of departments within healthcare facilities. Used to classify hospital units, clinics, and service areas by their function.

Overview

HealthReferenceDepartmentType provides a standardized catalog of department types found in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Departments are categorized by their primary function (medical, surgical, diagnostic, emergency, administrative, support). This enables consistent organization of facility structures, staff assignments, and patient flow across healthcare systems.

Key Concepts

Department Categories

Departments are grouped by their primary function:

Standard Department Types

Medical Departments

• CARDIO - Cardiology (heart conditions)
• PEDS - Pediatrics (children's care)
• NEURO - Neurology (nervous system)
• PSYCH - Psychiatry (mental health)
• ONCOLOGY - Oncology (cancer care)
• ICU - Intensive Care Unit (critical care)
• OB_GYN - Obstetrics & Gynecology

Surgical Departments

• SURG - General Surgery
• ORTHO - Orthopedics (musculoskeletal)

Diagnostic Departments

• RADIOLOGY - Medical imaging
• LAB - Clinical laboratory

Emergency Departments

• ER - Emergency/Trauma

Support Departments

• PHARMACY - Medication services

Administrative

• ADMIN - Hospital administration

Department Identification

Each department type includes:

• code - Unique department code (e.g., "CARDIO", "ER")
• label - Human-readable name (e.g., "Cardiology", "Emergency")
• category - Functional classification
• description - Service details

Use Cases

Facility Organization

When structuring a healthcare facility:

1. Define departments by type and category
2. Assign physical locations to departments
3. Map staff to appropriate departments
4. Configure patient routing rules

Staff Scheduling

For workforce management:

1. Assign practitioners to departments
2. Schedule coverage by department type
3. Track cross-department assignments
4. Manage department-specific credentials

Patient Admission

When admitting patients:

1. Route to appropriate department by condition
2. Track department bed availability
3. Manage transfers between departments
4. Document admission/discharge by department

Cost Center Tracking

For financial management:

1. Assign costs to department categories
2. Track revenue by department
3. Benchmark similar department types
4. Budget by departmental function

Reporting and Analytics

For operational insights:

1. Aggregate metrics by department category
2. Compare performance across similar departments
3. Track patient flow between departments
4. Analyze resource utilization by type

Related Entities

Enums

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