Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Health Care Settings The Places Where Care is Delivered
Lecture:Departments and services
Interrelationships between health care organizations
Medical data use and impact
Slide content:Clinical Support Services 3.6 Figure: Support services grouping. CC BY by Vivian Todhunter 11
Slide notes:The management structure of clinical support services (also called allied health ) varies depending on the health care organization. Some have a management-level officer who reports directly to the CEO; some combine clinical support services and ancillary services and divide it into diagnostic and therapeutic divisions; and in others, the managers of individual allied health departments report directly to the COO or designate. Clinical support service departments support the diagnosis and treatment of patients in specialized areas. Examples of diagnostic allied health include radiology, which is responsible for x-rays, magnetic resonance [ rez -uh-nntz] imaging, and computerized tomography [tuh- mog -ra-fee]. Radiology departments also support therapeutic procedures, often termed interventional radiology . Another example is cardiology, responsible for diagnostic studies such as electrocardiograms [ee- lek -tro- kar -dee-o-grams], stress tests, and echocardiograms [ ek -o- kard -dee-o-grams]. Cardiology also supports more invasive diagnostic and interventional studies such as cardiac catheterization [kath-eh-ter-eh- zay -shun]. Allied health departments that provide therapeutic treatment include physical therapy, which provides care for patients with physical limitations from injuries or disease. Pharmacy is responsible for the acquisition, storage, and dispensing of medication. Social services is an example of a department that provides patient and family support and counseling, assessment of financial assistance, and discharge planning. As mentioned, the reporting structure can vary from this example within health care organizations. For example, laboratory services may be included under clinical support services in some organizations and social services might report to nursing. 11