Acute care hospitals

Acute care hospitals remain essential components of health systems in all countries, performing common functions everywhere, namely, the initial assessment and stabilization of the acutely ill patient, provision of a more definitive diagnosis, and immediate treatment. Hospitals are integrated into referral systems with other care providers in different ways in different health systems, but similar trends toward reduced inpatient bed utilization and concentration of specialized services are visible in most developed countries. Acute hospitals will need to meet the challenge of health-care-acquired infections if recent progress toward reduced hospitalization is to be maintained in future. © 2008 Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.