THE computer, which has revolutionized industries ranging from b anking to transportation, is broadening its impact on a newer t arget: the American hospital. Able to handle pyramids of paperwork a nd to complete forms with lightning speed, computers are opening a v ariety of careers in hospital administration. Paired with other e quipment that permits observation of minute parts of human organs, t hey have also given birth to a host of new titles and r esponsibilities for laboratory technicians. And as they streamline c lerical and technical abilities they help hospitals contain i ncreasing costs.
Hospitals have lagged behind other enterprises in using computers, according to Philip G. Martin, general manager of the health services group of the Control Data Corporation.
''Until recently,'' he said, ''hospitals did not have as much incentive to install computers as did other labor-intensive industries. The wages of their workers were generally less, and they could pass on the cost of completing forms to insurance carriers and the government. But now they are under considerable pressure to cut costs'' because of rising costs of health care, which is meeting resistance from both government and private enterprise.
First to install computers were hospitals affiliated with medical schools and large hospitals in major cities. In the early 1970's they began to hire administrators, accountants and programmers who could design and manage computer systems for patients' bills, employee tax records, budget analyses and other financial matters. Because there were few schools of hospital administration that offered courses in computer science, most of the early recruits came from other industries that used computers extensively.
Today smaller hospitals are beginning to computerize their financial records. According to David A. Kantor of Amherst Associates, Chicago-based consultants to the health-care industry, the number of new positions will be increasing for people who can manage computer systems for hospitals with fewer than 100 beds. Many of these jobs will be in suburbs, small towns and rural areas.
''The price of computers has fallen, making it possible for even the smallest hospital to afford them,'' Mr. Kantor said. ''The financial area is going to be a great growth area for computer people who want to work in small hospitals'' - about half of the 7,000 hospitals in the country.
In the early 70's, medical schools and their affiliated teaching hospitals also started hiring technicians who knew how to operate CAT scanners, ultrasound devices and other diagnostic tools that utilize computers. These devices, which enable physicians to locate tiny tumors, early cancers and even abnormalities in fetuses, created a host of new occupations: radiological technician, sonographer and ecocardiographer to name a few. THESE occupations, which require two or more years of technical t raining after high school, are among the fastest growing in the h ealth care field. For example, the number of jobs for sonographers, w ho operate ultrasound machines, is expected to more than double in t he next decade because new uses are being found for ultrasound d evices that use high-frequency sound waves to draw images on a c omputer screen.
More than 18,500 jobs for radiological technicians are expected to open up each year for the next several years in medium-size hospitals of 300 to 500 beds, because these institutions are beginning to purchase new scanning devices that reveal details often impossible to see in ordinary X-rays.
''People who majored in biochemistry or some other science because they hope to find a career in basic research do very well in this field,'' said Daniel J. Fink, director of laboratory information services at Presbyterian Hospital of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. ''Hospitals offer good jobs today for people willing to try them.''
Besides creating jobs, computers are expected to restructure existing ones. ''Everyone who works in health care is going to be affected,'' said Bernie R. Schmertz, director of information systems of the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City. ''Doctors, nurses, technicians and clerical workers are all going to spend less time on routine but necessary chores, because the computer is going to do the work for them.'' FOR example, scheduling, conducting and reporting the findings of l aboratory tests will require less time and effort on the part of h ospital personnel. Clerical workers won't have to spend hours w riting requests for tests, filing the multitude of slips containing r esults, or following up on cancellations or errors; the computer w ill store these records for them. Computers also will decrease the r outine work of laboratory technicians by enabling them to measure m ultiple concentrations of various chemicals in a single sample of b lood or other body fluid.
Physicians will have more latitude over when and where they diagnose and treat patients. Test results can be transmitted to the screens of their home or office computers so that they can know immediately whether a patient is doing well and if something must be done.
There is evidence that the restructuring of hospital positions is already taking place. A typical experience is that of Marcia Jankowski, a laboratory technician who has worked at the Arnot-Ogden Memorial Hospital in Elmira, N.Y., for 14 years. Until 1981, Mrs. Jankowski was in charge of analyzing blood samples. Although that is still a significant part of her job, she now manages patients' files, collects statistics for the department and makes sure that errors in laboratory reports get corrected.
''My job is more interesting now that I spend 70 percent of my time working with the computer,'' Mrs. Jankowski said. ''I get more variety and satisfaction from being a troubleshooter for the department than I did when I was just a bench technician.''
Like many hospital workers who were able to make a successful transition, Mrs. Jankowski has a degree - a bachelor's in mathematics and chemistry from Elmira College. She learned all she needed to know about computer applications in her area by taking a short-term course.
David D. Libenson, director of information services at Presbyterian Hospital, believes that employees like Mrs. Jankowski who have an educational background have the greatest chance of advancement.
''Any student who is majoring in computers now is heading for eventual unemployment,'' Mr. Libenson said. ''Their kind of education is too narrow and will lead nowhere, just like jobs for barrel makers did in the last century. The computer field is changing so rapidly that people need to know the underlying principles that a liberal-arts education gives them, rather than a few specialized functions that will soon be obsolete.''
Illustrations: photo of Dr. James DeLuca