Tertiary referral hospital

A tertiary referral hospital (also known as a tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center, tertiary care center, or tertiary center) is a type of hospital that provides specialized tertiary care. Tertiary care is a level of health care that is obtained from specialists in a large hospital after referral from primary care and secondary care providers.

Tertiary referral hospitals typically offer a wide range of services, including pediatrics, obstetrics, general medicine, gynecology, various branches of surgery, and psychiatry. They may also be specialty hospitals dedicated to specific sub-specialty care, such as pediatric centers, oncology centers, or psychiatric hospitals.

Patients are often referred from smaller hospitals to tertiary referral hospitals for major operations, consultations with sub-specialists, and when sophisticated intensive care facilities are required. Some examples of the specialized care provided by tertiary referral centers include head and neck oncology, high-risk pregnancies (perinatology), high-risk newborn care (neonatology), PET scans, organ transplantation, trauma surgery, high-dose chemotherapy for cancer cases, growth and puberty disorders, neurology, and neurosurgery. In the UK, tertiary referral hospitals also handle cases of poisoning.

For more information on hospitals and related topics, see the following articles: Hospital, History of hospitals, Primary care, Secondary hospital, Hospital train, Hospital ship, and Underground hospital.

References: - Tertiary Care Centers - MeSH - NCBI - Definition of TERTIARY CARE