Ask A Question

Express Healthcare‘s interactive FAQ section titled – ‘Ask A Question’ addresses reader queries related to hospital planning and management. Industry expert Tarun Katiyar, Principal Consultant, Hospaccx India Systems, through his sound knowledge and experience, shares his insights and provide practical solutions to questions directed by Express Healthcare readers

Question: In which places we require handicapped toilet in the hospital?
– Nilesh Shah, Surat

Answer: As per NABH norms, toilets for the disabled is compulsory in the OPD area. IPD doesn’t require a toilet for handicapped people as such because wards have separate toilet for patients. Still if you want to place it in the IPD and in other sections you can do so but it’s not mandatory.

Question: What is the job description of an MD in a hospital?
– Dr Debashish Deo, Hubli

Answer: The job description of an MD in a hospital is:

• Commitment to the hospital’s strategic principles.
• Establishing a culture of collaboration and integration that enhances the provision of excellent patient care and improved patient satisfaction, provides a safe employee and patient-care environment as well as supports innovation and creativity.
• Overseeing strong workforce development through recruitment and retention, employee satisfaction and engagement, maximising growth potential of employees and strong succession planning, embracing diversity as a strategic advantage.
• Maximising operational effici-encies to provide the quality of safe and appropriate patient care.
• Ensuring regulatory and other compliance along with achieving and maintaining financial health.
• Participate as needed in physician recruitment efforts and continuing leadership in environmental and community stewardship.
• Support planning and development of capacity expansion projects and guide the development of services for new facilities.
• Build on the current fiscal strength and stability of hospital through proper management and oversight; proactively lead the organisation in a challenging, competitive and more regulated environment to meet shorter- and longer-term (five to 10 years) capital requirements.
• Direct efforts towards making the hospital safe by incorporating high-quality, service-oriented, safe patient care.
• Create an environment of continuous improvement that fosters physician and staff collaboration, enhance revenues, controls costs and improves overall performance.

Question: What is petty cash and its policy?
– Dr Ashish Jain, Indore

Answer: Petty cash funds are used for expenditures in connection with approved hospital activities. Its amount and significance is so small that it precludes request of disbursement by cheque. The amount of the fund requested should be limited to minimum operating requirements to prevent theft of cash.

Petty cash policy:

• The account executive in consultation with the head accounts is responsible for approving and controlling all petty cash funds.
• The account executive is responsible for approving and embossing all changes to petty cash funds and establishment of petty cash funds.
• Account executive can be responsible for only one petty cash fund.
• The executive accounts is responsible for controlling and safeguarding the fund.
• All petty cash expenditures must be supported by a petty cash voucher slip and a receipt. The petty cash voucher slip must be approved by the account executive and signed by the recipient of the cash. The voucher slip and receipt must be submitted along with the request.
• Responsible department must notify the treasurer when there is a change to the petty cash fund.
• The amount of the fund should be limited to the total of three week’s expenditures.
• All petty cash funds must be replenished atleast on a monthly basis and original receipts as well as voucher slips must accompany all reimbursement requests.