During the Middle Ages, hospitals served different functions from modern institutions in that they were almshouses for the poor, hostels See more

A hospital contains one or more wards that house hospital beds for inpatients. It may also have acute services such as an emergency department, operating theatre, and intensive care unit, as well as a range of medical specialty departments. A well-equipped hospital … See more

Early examples
In early India, Fa Xian, a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled across India c. AD 400, recorded examples of healing institutions. … See more

As the quality of health care has increasingly become an issue around the world, hospitals have increasingly had to pay serious attention … See more

Some patients go to a hospital just for diagnosis, treatment, or therapy and then leave ("outpatients") without staying overnight; while others are "admitted" and stay overnight or for several days or weeks or months ("inpatients"). Hospitals are usually … See more

Modern hospitals derive funding from a variety of sources. They may be funded by private payment and health insurance or public expenditure, charitable donations.
In the See more

Modern hospital buildings are designed to minimise the effort of medical personnel and the possibility of contamination while maximising the … See more