Clinic
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2008-07-03T07:30:00Z
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/* Types of clinics */ Linking to polyclinic
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[[Image:VelikiVrag-Medpunkt-1435.jpg|thumb|240px|A medpunkt (health care access point) delivers primary health care to the residents of the village of Veliki Vrag in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia]]
[[Image:Freud Sofa.JPG|thumb|240px|Freud's couch used during psychoanalytic sessions]]
[[Image:GreenwichSurgeryClinic bordercropped.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''The entrance to a [[surgery]] clinic in [[Greenwich]], [[London]].'']]
A '''clinic''' or '''outpatient clinic''' are originally small private or public health facility that provide [[health care]] for ambulatory patients or clients in a community, in contrast to inpatients treated in a hospital. Some grow to be institutions as large as major hospitals, whilst retaining the name Clinic. General practice clinics are run by one or more [[general practitioner]]s or [[Medical practice consultants|practice managers]]. [[Physiotherapy]] clinics are usually operated by physiotherapists and psychology clinics by [[clinical psychologists]], and so on for each health profession. Some clinics are operated in-house by employers, government organizations or hospitals and some clinical services are outsourced to private corporations, specialising in provision of health services. In [[Medicine in China|China]], for example, owners of those clinics do not have formal medical education. Health care in [[Healthcare in India|India]], [[Barefoot doctors|China]], Russia and Africa is provided to vast rural areas by mobile health clinics or roadside dispensaries, some of which integrate traditional health practices. In India these traditional clinics provide [[ayurvedic]] medicine and [[unani]] herbal medical practice. In each of these countries [[traditional medicine]] tends to be an hereditary practice.
The function of clinics will differ from country to country. For instance, a local general practice run by a single general practitioner will provide [[primary health care]] and will usually be run as a for-profit business by the owner whereas a government specialist clinic may provide subsidized specialized health care.
Some clinics function as a place for people with injuries or illnesses to come and be seen by [[triage]] nurse or other health worker. In these clinics, the injury or illness may not be serious enough to warrant a visit to an [[emergency room]], but the person can be moved to one if required. Treatment at these clinics is often less expensive than it would be at a casualty department. Also, unlike an ER these clinics are often not open on a 24 x 7 x 365 basis. They sometimes have access to diagnostic equipment such as X-ray machines, especially if the clinic is part of a larger facility. Doctors at such clinics can often refer patients to specialists if the need arises.
==Etymology==
The word derives from the Greek ''klinein'' meaning to slope, lean or recline. Hence ''kline'' a couch or bed, ''klinikos'' sloping or reclining and to Latin ''clinicus'' <ref>'Origins - a short etymological dictionary of modern English' by Eric Partridge Book club associates 1966</ref>. An early use of the word clinic was, 'one who receives baptism on a sick bed' <ref>Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 )[http://www.dictionary.net/clinic]</ref>. Psychoanalytic clinics traditionally have the patient reclining on a couch to undergo [[psychoanalysis|analysis]].
== Types of clinics ==
* In the [[Health care in the United States|United States]], a [[free clinic]] provides free or low cost health care for those without insurance.
* A [[Retail Based Clinic]] is housed in supermarkets and similar retail outlets providing walk in health care, which may be staffed by [[nurse practitioners]].
* A '''general out-patient clinic''' is a clinic offering a community general diagnoses or treatments without an overnight stay.
* A '''[[polyclinic]]''' is a clinic, hospital, or school where many diseases are treated and studied.
** In the [[UK]], the term is used to refer to very large clinics often formed by dissolving several existing [[General Practitioner|GP]] clinics, and offering some social, complementary, and hospital services alongside the traditional ones<ref>{{cite web | publisher=[[Pulsetoday]] News | title=PCTs plan merged polyclinics housing 25 GPs| date=2008-03-27 | accessdate=2008-03-27 | author=Pulse | url=http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=23&storycode=4118098}}</ref>. Although government-backed, such clinics have been found to offer poorer choice and worse access than traditional GP surgeries<ref>{{cite web | publisher=[[BBC]] News | title=Hospital and GP reforms 'flawed' | date=2008-03-21 | accessdate=2008-03-23 | author=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7306779.stm}}</ref>, and have been repeatedly publically opposed by doctors, health experts, and patients<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nancollas CE |title=Doctors warn of premature move to polyclinics: Joined-up thinking? |journal=BMJ |volume=336 |issue=7647 |pages=736 |year=2008 |month=April |pmid=18390503 |doi=10.1136/bmj.39535.425139.1F |url=}}</ref><ref name="guardian July 07">{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jul/11/health.medicineandhealth |title=Health experts condemn London polyclinic plans | Society | guardian.co.uk |format= |work= |accessdate=}}</ref>. It has been claimed that the government has been bringing pressure to bear on [[Primary Care Trusts]] to implement them despite this opposition<ref>{{cite journal |author=O'Dowd A |title=Doctors warn of premature move to polyclinics |journal=BMJ |volume=336 |issue=7645 |pages=635 |year=2008 |month=March |pmid=18356228 |doi=10.1136/bmj.39521.479618.DB |url=}}</ref>.
**In [[Russia]], polyclinics are the main form of urban primary care. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, new Russian government tried to replace polyclinics with the western model based on general practitioner but failed. Polyclinics remain the dominant form of primary care and seem to suit well the local environment.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ershova I, Rider O, Gorelov V |title=Polyclinics in London |journal=Lancet |volume=370 |issue=9603 |pages=1890–1 |year=2007 |month=December |pmid=18068500 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61793-0 |url=}}</ref>.
* A [[fertility clinic]] aims to help those couples and individuals to become pregnant. An '''[[abortion clinic]]''' is a medical facility providing certain kinds of outpatient medical care, including [[abortion]] to women. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.
* A '''specialist clinic''' is a clinic with in-depth diagnosis or treatment on diseases of specific parts of the body. This type of clinic contrasts with '''general out-patient clinics,''' which deal with general diseases.
== Examples of clinics ==
* [[Tavistock Clinic]] part of the Britain [[NHS]], was founded in 1920's one of its most celebrated members was [[R D Laing]].
* San Francisco's [[Suitcase Clinic]] is a prime example of a free clinic.
* [[Christian Medical College & Hospital]] in Vellore, India has extensive roadside dispensaries and began as a one bed clinic in 1900.
* [[The Edmonton Clinic]] is a joint venture of the University of Alberta and a government health care body Capital health, expected to be completed in 2011.
* [[The Shyness Clinic]] founded by Zimbardo to assist those disabled by public or private shyness.
* [[La Borde clinic]] in the Loire valley France, is an innovative psychiatric clinic where patients are liberated to actively participate in the running the facility.
* The [[Mayo Clinic]] and [[Cleveland Clinic]] are two comprehensive [[health care system]]s. Both began as much smaller group practices that have grown into large medical programs in the [[United States]], whilst retaining their names.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Abortion clinic]]
*[[Free clinic]]
*[[Clinical Management System]]
[[Category:Healthcare]]
[[de:Poliklinik]]
[[es:Clínica]]
[[ja:診療所]]
[[no:Vårdcentral]]
[[ru:Амбулатория]]
[[simple:Clinic]]
[[fi:Terveyskeskus]]
[[sv:Vårdcentral]]
[[zh:診所]]