A Comparison between Standard Requirements of Admission Units in Educational Hospitals of Shiraz and Ahvaz Universities of Medical Sciences

Introduction: The entrance of the hospital is the reception and the communication with patients starts from this unit. The efficiency of the unit would be clear when all general rules including facilities and activities are controlled.This study compared the status of the reception units of Shiraz and Ahwaz educational hospitals.Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2008, compared the reception units of 7 hospitals in Shiraz and 7 hospitals in Ahvaz. Data collection was performed through interview and direct observation. The data was enetered in standard checklists confirmed by the Ministry of Health. The validity and stability of data collection tools were verified and the results were shown in frequency distribution percentage tables.Results: The percentage of essential equipments found in the educational hospitals of Shiraz and Ahvaz was 39% and 49%, respectively. Reception units had no role in patients' release in Ahvaz hospitals, but 28% of patients release was done by the reception units in Shiraz hospitals.Conclusion: According to the results of this study, 22% and 31% of reception units in Ahvaz and Shiraz, respectively, followed the standards. Hospital staff in Shiraz had higher education compared with those in Ahvaz. The authorities need to be more responsible in solving the existing problems in reception units. They should also make more effort to improve the quality of medical records units.Keywords: Inpatients; Patient Admission; Hospitals, Teaching; Universities.