From the Patient Registry to the Patient History: Individuals and Diseases in a Transylvanian Hospital in 1877

Summary The foundation of Carolina Hospital in Cluj (hu: Kolozsvár, de: Klausenburg), one of the important towns of Transylvania, constituted a first step towards shifting the emphasis from traditional healing practices to the modern medicine of the time. Based on the patient registry from the year 1877, this article attempts to capture this transition, focussing on the beneficiary of medical services, the patient. We were interested in outlining a profile of the patient from a peripheral, yet significant, town of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, in the context following the implementation of the 1876 Health Act. Who were these patients, what were their occupations, what illnesses did they suffer from, how long did they stay in hospital, what was the cost of hospitalisation and who paid for these services are some of the questions that find answers in this paper.