Tertiary referral hospital
Encyclopedia
A tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center or tertiary care center is a term without a formal definition which in the United States
generally refers to:
In both the United Kingdom and the United States, a tertiary referral hospital can also mean any hospital that provides tertiary care.
Some examples of tertiary referral center care are:
Another function of Tertiary Hospitals is to write and disseminate state of the art medical procedures and policies. Tertiary Hospitals are major source of the latest medical technologies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
generally refers to:
- a major hospitalHospitalA hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
that usually has a full complement of services including pediatricsPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
, general medicine, various branches of surgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
and psychiatryPsychiatryPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
or - a specialty hospital dedicated to specific sub-specialty care (pediatric centers, OncologyOncologyOncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
centers, psychiatric hospitals). Patients will often be referred from smaller hospitals to a tertiary hospital for major operations, consultations with sub-specialists and when sophisticated intensive care facilities are required.
In both the United Kingdom and the United States, a tertiary referral hospital can also mean any hospital that provides tertiary care.
Some examples of tertiary referral center care are:
- Head and neck oncologyOncologyOncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
- Perinatology (High-risk pregnancies)
- NeonatologyNeonatologyNeonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn infant. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practiced in neonatal intensive care units...
(High-risk newborn care) - PET scans
- Organ transplantation
- Trauma surgeryPhysical traumaTrauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
- High-dose chemotherapyChemotherapyChemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
cases - Growth and pubertyPubertyPuberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
disorders. - NeurologyNeurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and NeurosurgeryNeurosurgeryNeurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In... - In the UK, cases of poisoningPoisoningPoisoning may refer to:* Biological toxicity, see toxin and poison.* Catalyst poisoning.* Nuclear poison.* Poisoning, a classification in Cantonese food.* Route poisoning, a computer network concept.* Secondary poisoning...
.
Another function of Tertiary Hospitals is to write and disseminate state of the art medical procedures and policies. Tertiary Hospitals are major source of the latest medical technologies.