OPD: Outpatient Department

The full form of OPD is “Outpatient Department“. An Outpatient Department (OPD) is designed to be a first contact point between the patient and the hospital staff in a hospital department. A Patient who goes first time to the hospital, directly goes to OPD and then the OPD decides to which department a patient should go. The outpatient department is an important part of the overall running of the hospital. An outpatient department or outpatient clinic is the part of a hospital designed for the treatment of outpatients, people with health problems who visit the hospital for diagnosis or treatment, but do not at this time require a bed or to be admitted for overnight care.

Modern outpatient departments offer a wide range of treatment services, diagnostic tests and minor surgical procedures. Generally an OPD is constructed on the ground floor of any hospital and divided into several parts like Neurology department, Orthopedics department, Gynecology department, General medicine department etc. Here the patient completes all the formalities and then go the respective department. It is normally integrated with the in-patient services and manned by consultant physicians and surgeons who also attend inpatients in the wards. Many patients are examined and given treatment as outpatients before being admitted to the hospital at a later date as inpatients. When discharged, they may attend the outpatient clinic for follow-up treatment.

Other full forms of OPD