[Short-term hospitalization: experience in Otorhinolaryngology and Orthopedics]

The activation of short-term hospitalization in the Otorhinolaryngology and Orthopedics departments of a medium-sized hospital has led to considerable rationalization of costs, as well as to organization of patient care based on level and intensity of treatment required, less social and psychological discomforts for patients, and to a higher level of integration between hospital and community services. This experience, of 10 months duration, may be taken as a model of a concrete organizational and functional transformation and of adaptation to the demand and supply of healthcare services.