Hospital network

Some of the earliest hospital networks were affiliated with charitable, religious organizations. The Catholic Church established a hospital network in medieval Europe that was vastly improved from the merely reciprocal hospitality of the Greeks and family-based obligations of the Romans. These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse. In the late 20th century hospital networks were established to make delivery of healthcare more efficient and to share specialized medical services and physicians across the network. To avoid financial losses due to shrinking reimbursements and rising costs as well as improving quality of care and avoid duplication of services, hospitals may consolidate certain services at one hospital. However, patients may need to travel farther if those services are no longer offered at their local hospital. ==Largest hospital networks==

Hospital networks that do not have reliable sources may not be included; these are not necessarily complete lists. Ranked by capacity This is a list of hospital networks with a capacity of more than 2,500 beds. Ranked by staff This is a list of hospital networks with at least 20,000 staff. == By country ==

United States The largest hospital networks headquartered in the United States are included in the table below. The name, headquarters location, number of hospitals, funding type and founding year are given for each network. • Dublin North East (subsequently renamed RCSI Hospitals) • Dublin Midlands (subsequently renamed Dublin Midlands Hospital Group) • Dublin East (subsequently renamed Ireland East Hospital Group) • South/South West (subsequently renamed South/Southwest Hospital Group) • West/North West (subsequently renamed Saolta University Health Care Group) • Mid West (subsequently renamed UL Hospitals Group) United Kingdom • National Health Service (England) • NHS Scotland • NHS Wales • Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland Other • Aga Khan Health Services, HQ in France • Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France; 44 hospitals • Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Taiwan, 8 hospitals • Hirslanden Private Hospital Group, Switzerland, 17 hospitals ==See also==