OPD Full Form is Outpatient Department. It is a department of the medical facilities where patients visit for diagnosis and tests without being admitted to the hospital.
OPD full form, what does it stand for?
OPD stands for Out Patient Department. OPD is a department which acts as a middle pathway in between the patient and hospital staff. Firstly the doctors in the OPD will do all the diagnosis and check up of the particular patient, only after that it will be decided what special treatment should be given to the patient, and for that treatment he or she will be recommended to the special department like cardio, orthopaedic, neuro etc. OPD is the primary point of contact for the patients in a hospital.
Understanding the concept of OPD better:
The OPD unit is built for the basic diagnosis, tests and minor surgical services, and it is specifically made for those people who need not to be hospitalized. OPD consists of many doctors from different departments like orthopaedic, gynocelogist, general physician etc
Even though the doctors from OPD are not intrinsic staff of the hospital but many times they serve the internal departments of the hospital too.
After the discharge from the hospital, the patient can see the OPD doctor that corresponds with the illness of the patient for follow up treatment.
A matter of Fees:
The amount of fees charged by the OPD department is different from one hospital to another. In government hospitals the fees are kept very low, but in the private hospitals or their OPDs charge a significant amount of fees which is decided by the authorities of the hospital.
Outpatient: who is it?
Outpatient is the one who comes to the OPD for his or her diagnosis and treatment. This person is not admited in the hospital directly. But in case of requirement, he or she can be admitted to the hospital after the recommendation of an OPD doctor.
Some characteristics of OPD:
Here are some of the characteristics of an OPD department in the hospital;
- Primary step for the treatment in the hospital, no matter what the illness is first the diagnosis will be done in the OPD
- It’s an important step for health, wellness and prevention of illness, because it helps with the early investigation and understanding of the severity of the patient.
- It helps in creating the foundation of the treatment for patient by providing the early investigation and understanding of the illness.
- Availability of really good medical professionals is there in OPD department at much lesser cost.
- It’s an ideal department when it comes to general treatment, vaccinations and prevention of illnesses.
Benefits of OPD department:
There are many benefits of OPD department; here are some of them;
- The health insurance coverage is very extensive in the OPD, hence you can have huge benefit from it.
- The treatment is available at much lesser cost than hospitalized treatment.
- Minor surgical treatment can be done easily.
- You can consult with doctors on various fields, like cardiologist, neurologist etc
- In case of accidental emergency, OPD is the perfect place.
- Prevention and observation of transferrable diseases.
- All the information related to the medical history of the patient is kept nicely
- A perfect place for the training staff, nurses, future doctors, para medical staff etc
Things to remember before visiting OPD:
It is very necessary to consider few things before going to the OPD department of the hospital. By following these things, you will save a lot of time and your treatment process will be less stressful;
- Timings of OPD:
The timings of OPD will be determined by the staff of the hospital and it can vary from one hospital to another. Normally in India the timings of OPD is 9 am to 6 pm. If you contact during this time, you will get the appointment much quicker than other timings.
- Availability of the Slots:
According to the accessibility of the doctor special slots are made available for the patients. If you want to visit a particular specialist, make sure he or she is available during that time slot. On the other hand, the regular checkup and treatment is available all the time.
- Getting an appointment:
You have to get an appointment before visiting a doctor, especially when you want to consult a certain specialist. You can do it by calling or online. If their is an emergency or the illness is severe you can request to the receptionist to get the appointment for you.
- Looking for the appropriate specialist:
It can be a really tiring task to look for the specialist. You can consult a general physician and he or she can recommend a good specialist for you after doing the diagnosis of your illness.
What’s the Procedure of treatment in OPD department?
It includes certain steps, which are as follows;
- The patient’s diagnosis is done, all the necessary tests and examinations are conducted as the primary process.
- The appointments will be given to the patient for the respective doctor consultation
- If you are a new patient, make sure you keep the file intact and this fine can be issued from the reception department.
- A patient have to pay the fees according to the visit. It will depend on whether you are a new patient or you are visiting for the follow up.
FAQs: OPD Full Form
Question 1. Are OPD and Emergency department different?
Answer1. Yes, they are totally different departments. The function of OPD is to provide treatment for general health related issues. On the other hand, Emergency department is for severe cases like accident, heart attack etc.
Question 2. How many types of OPD departments are there?
Answer2. There are many different types of OPD departments exist in a hospital, some of them are as follows;
- Primary Care Clinic: Here the general health issues are taken care of, by physicians and also specialists.
- Community Clinic: In this department, people who cannot afford the high fees of hospital are treated. This is specifically for poor or unfortunate people.
- Urgent Care Clinic: The patient who require urgent attention are taken care of by this department,
- Specialized OPD: If a person is suffering from a special health condition, he or she will be treated here, by specialists.
- Pharmacy: To facilitate the medicines to the patients