Tips on Surviving Hospitalization

Enduring hospitalization is a scary proposition. If your disease or medical problem doesn't kill you, perhaps the doctors, nurses or the building itself will. Medical wisdom has even seen fit to take the hospice out of hospitals. You now must admit yourself to a health center or a wellness facility. Most of these places won't even allow you to die there.

Our President speaks of digitalizing all hospital records and you no doubt will encounter an employee with a laptop or rolling computer. She or he will ask you many questions. After this initial brush with modernity most medical facilities then immediately revert to scribbling on piles of paper and endless outdated forms. When you are wheeled around to take a test, get an x-ray or have some sort of procedure or therapy you will be strapped to a big book like binder and this is your personal file that follows you around. I'm sure some of the data gets transcribed but for the most part doctors and nurses go directly to the huge paper volume and within this mass of chicken scratch is the source of most medical mistakes. Consider yourself lucky if you end up in a Veteran's facility for they are the only fully digitalized care centers in this nation and even they have inherent dangers because of the muddled bureaucratic communication existent between branches of the service, the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. Remember, you have the right of access to any record, test result, pharmacy order or notation made by any of the hospital staff.

Don't get sick on a Thursday because the admitting doctor or Hospitalist on duty will be off on the weekend. You will simply be housed and fed and no substantive care will be available. Consider yourself lucky if there is a Hospitalist, then there will be at least one person responsible for your care. Some facilities share care between outside doctors with attending rights, resident doctors and a host of specialists. This Chinese fire drill approach can cause great harm. Whether an in-patient or out-patient always demand to know, "Who's taking care of me?" Sometimes your primary care physician won't want anything to do with the hospital or the attending Hospitalist will release you with a list of every doctor you saw while inside but will not offer a clue as to who is to be in charge of your care on the outside. Hospitals may get you through a critical event but most of healing happens after you are released. You may find yourself in a weakened state all on your own.

Hospitals are breeding grounds for infections of the worst sort. Hospital bacterium learn to survive at all costs. Insist that your room is cleaned and sanitized daily, your linen is changed often and that everyone entering your room washes their hands or makes use of a sanitizer. Doctors and visitors are no exception, insist that everyone keeps it clean.

Remember, health care is a business. You have the right to expect and demand good customer service. Doctors are selling a product, nurses and technicians are more concerned about fulfilling protocol than offering care. Approach the experience like you would any other expensive purchase. Ask questions. Know the reason behind every test and procedure, question all medications, be sure of their compatibility. If you are stuck there on a weekend and nothing is happening, ask to go home. If you are waiting on a surgeon to find free time, go home. If the bed is uncomfortable, complain. Nurse inattentive, ask for the supervisor and have a conversation. Unless your condition is critical demand that you be allowed to rest without interruption for at least six hours every evening. Meaning, no one will wake you to take your temperature, blood pressure, or blood samples between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. If the food is not palatable, talk to the nutritionist. Don't be afraid to complain, your room rate is comparable to a first rate hotel you should expect a modicum of comfort, decent food and adequate rest.

If you don't like the diagnosis or anything else the attending doctor is telling you ask for a second opinion. Any other problems concerning your care ask to see an administrator and have a discussion about 'the patients' bill of rights.' Yes, there are laws that protect you and if you are put in harms way both the care provider and your insurance company can be held to fault.

Hospitalization may be an emergency or you may be injured or terribly ill, so make sure you have an advocate (your wife, brother, sister, best friend, lawyer) that is able to monitor your care. Trust the medical establishment and the god like physicians no more than you would a used car dealer or a smarmy salesperson.

Stay alive!