
How are hospitals organized?
Hospitals today are organized in a variety of ways. The organizational structure is now tailored to the activities of the hospital and the capabilities of its individual departments. Although all have common elements, there is no longer one dominant organizational structure.
Is a hospital a corporation?
Organizational Structure of a Hospital There is no doubt that modern day hospitals, in particular large teaching hospitals, are complex organizational structures. They are operated similar to large business corporations, albeit not for profit in most cases.
What is a hierarchical hospital organizational chart?
The hierarchical hospital organizational chart is used to map and track those departments. The hierarchical hospital organizational chart shows the departments and their connection with other entities and departments. A functional hospital organizational chart is used in such organizations that includes complex hierarchies.
What are the different departments in a hospital?
The medical staff are organized into departments (e.g. internal medicine, surgery, family practice, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics). Clinical departments have a department head who oversees functioning of its department.

Why is it important to understand hospital organizational structure?
Understanding hospital organizational structure ensures that hospital employees know their own responsibilities, the responsibilities of those around them, to whom they report and who to talk to about particular responsibilities or fields of knowledge.
What are the roles of hospital workers?
The vast majority of hospital workers are service providers: doctors, nurses, orderlies, physical therapists, laundry workers and the many other people required in order for a hospital to function. They provide patient care, maintain records and ensure that the hospital is able to deliver care to patients in an effective manner.
What is a hospital executive?
Hospital executives are responsible for managing the organization, making financial decisions and overseeing business strategy. Medical and health services managers may oversee entire practices or clinical areas. A hospital typically has a chief financial officer who tends to the financial health of the business and a chief operating officer or chief executive officer responsible for high-level business strategy and decision-making.
What is a hospital board of directors?
A hospital’s board of directors is often drawn from the healthcare community and is made up of experts in their respective fields. Religiously affiliated hospitals often include clergy on their boards of directors. Teaching hospitals often include university faculty from the medical school with which they’re affiliated.
What is the role of a hospital chief financial officer?
A hospital typically has a chief financial officer who tends to the financial health of the business and a chief operating officer or chief executive officer responsible for high-level business strategy and decision-making.
What does a chief of surgery do?
A chief of surgery might engage in public relations activities, fundraising and recruitment. Non-medical departments within a hospital, such as food services or switchboard personnel, also have department administrators.
What is a nurse manager?
Nurse managers and supervising physicians are both patient care managers. These individuals manage small groups of professionals who provide direct patient care. They ensure that orders are carried out, that hospital employees are fulfilling their duties appropriately and that employees are complying with legal requirements.
How is a hospital organized?
In conclusion, the hospital is organized hierarchically. All the departments’ responsibilities are distributed and controlled by the hospital administration. The departments interact with each other by the structure. Therefore, it ensures the equal distribution of duties among the hospital specialists. Also, the organizational structure aims at facilitating the process of delivering care. Therefore, all its elements have common goals and help to effectively implement them.
What is the main governing department of a hospital?
Its main governing department is the board of directors. The board supervises the entire organization. Some of the board’s responsibilities are developing strategies, controlling a chief executive officer, ensuring a high quality of services, and representing the hospital (“Fundamentals of hospital board governance, ” 2017). The next department is administration. It also has many functions. First, it hires all the personnel in the hospital. Therefore, the administration is responsible for the professional competency of each employee. Second, it coordinates and oversees the functions of each department. Third, it manages patient records.
What is the last department in a medical organization?
The last department is Support Services (SS). This department is responsible for providing services that make the entire organization run. It includes such services as Central Supply (CS), Biomedical Technology (BT), Housekeeping and Maintenance (HM), and Transportation. They are necessary to maintain all internal processes so that the medical personnel can deliver high-quality care. Also, this department has a significant impact on the efficiency of employees.
What is the organizational structure of a hospital?
There is no doubt that modern day hospitals, in particular large teaching hospitals, are complex organizational structures. They are operated similar to large business corporations, albeit not for profit in most cases. A typical hospital is comprised of three elements that must be effectively integrated ...
What is the hierarchy of hospital administration?
Hospital Administration. The organizational structure of a hospital generally consists of several layers. The Hospital Administrator or President is at the top of the hierarchy (directly under the Board) followed by a second level of department managers often designated as Vice-Presidents.
What is the CFO in a hospital?
The CFO is responsible for the financial management of hospital funds. The Director of Nursing (DON)may instead be given the title Associate Director of Nursing, Vice-President of Nursing, or Assistant Executive Director of Nursing. This person is in charge of supervising all patient care in the hospital.
What are the roles of medical staff?
However, they do not have attendance or voting privileges at committee (e.g. MAC) meetings. Consulting Staff do have attendance and voting privileges at committee meetings. They are also specialists (e.g. Surgeons) who are in good standing within their field. Active Staff comprise the main body of physicians in a hospital and are res ponsible for committee work and the administrative duties on behalf of the medical staff. Active Staff attend and treat their private patients as well as patients in clinics at the hospital. They have committee attendance and voting privileges. Associate Staff are newly appointed physicians for a set period of time. Their status will be changed to Active once their commitment to patient care is proven. Courtesy Staff are physicians, typically Family Practitioners, who are given the opportunity to attend to their own patients who have been hospitalized. They are able to attend committee meetings but may not vote or hold office. Residents are physicians who are completing post-graduate training (3-4 years) in a specific field of medicine (e.g. oncology, neurology, dermatology).
What is the role of the Chief of Staff in a hospital?
The Administrator and Chief of Staff work together to resolve issues, achieve mutual goals and most importantly to provide optimal patient care. Medical Staff: Designations.
What is the function of a clinical department?
The clinical departments of a hospital are responsible for establishing the standards of practice for their specialty, as well as providing continuing education, monitoring individual physicians’ performance, and providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and new techniques.
What is an associate staff physician?
Courtesy Staff are physicians, typically Family Practitioners, who are given the opportunity to attend to their own patients who have been hospitalized.

Board
Executives
- In the hospital leadership structure, executives are responsible for managing the organization, making financial decisions, and overseeing business strategy. Medical and health services managers may oversee entire practices or clinical areas. A hospital typically has a chief financial officer who tends to the financial aspects of the business and a...
Department Administrators
- Department administrators report to the hospital executives and manage the day-to-day operations of the hospital department structure. The chief of surgery, for example, is responsible for overseeing daily activities within the surgical department as well as performing surgery. A chief of surgery might engage in public relations activities, fundraising and recruitment. Other se…
Patient Care Managers
- Nurse managers and supervising physicians are both patient care managers. These individuals manage small groups of professionals who provide direct patient care. They ensure that orders are carried out, that hospital employees are fulfilling their duties appropriately, and that employees are complying with legal requirements.
Service Providers
- The vast majority of hospital workers are service providers: doctors, nurses, orderlies, physical therapists, laundry workers, and the many other people required in order for a hospital to function. They provide patient care, maintain records and ensure that the hospital is able to deliver care to patients in an effective manner. Service providers have their own hierarchical structure in health…
Move Up in The Hospital Hierarchy
- Rivier University’sonline MBA in Healthcare Administrationgives students the skills and knowledge needed to pursue management and executive positions in a hospital. The program takes place in a convenient and flexible online learning environment that accommodates students’ personal and work schedules.
The Board of Directors
- The board of directors is a governing regulatory body that helps hospitals make higher-level organizational decisions. The board of directors for hospitals usually consists of medical experts and influential members of local communities. Hospitals that are affiliated or overseen by universities may also include teaching faculty on the board of dire...
Executive Management
- Executives are responsible for successfully performing the hospital’s day-to-day managerial decision-making. A hospital executive’s organizational role is usually extremely specified depending on which specific function they are responsible for. This includes financial resource allocation, medical executive decision making and administrative operations.
Hospital and Departmental Administration
- Department administrators are responsible for reporting to hospital executives about the specific daily departmental operations of the organization and carrying out decisions made by executive management. These include supervising the provision of emergency healthcare services, overseeing supply and purchase of necessary medical equipment, monitoring departmental surg…
Patient Care Service Management
- Patient care managers are hospital employees that oversee and manage healthcare service providers.This includes creating employee schedules, ensuring that the overall healthcare provision process is carried out appropriately, confirming that the hospital complies with legal, regulatory requirements and addressing patient concerns.
Patient Service Providers
- Patient service providers include all employees that directly provide medical care to patients, including doctors, nurses, laundry workers, therapists and more. Patient service providers are responsible for communicating with patients personally, maintaining individual patient medical records and ensuring that patients receive the best care possible.
The Organizational Structure of Hospitals
How to Create A Hospital Organizational Chart?
- The hospital has a rigid organizational structure that is necessary to coordinate the hospital’s departments. Its main governing department is the board of directors. The board supervises the entire organization. Some of the board’s responsibilities are developing strategies, controlling a chief executive officer, ensuring a high quality of service...
Hospital Organizational Chart Examples
Best Hospital Organizational Chart Maker