| Sep 14, 2006 @ 2:29 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
Artemis122
Posts: 623
|
INTERESTING Article to Read [ Please NOTE this is a Partial Excerpt ]
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You -- By Reshma Kapadia -- 12Sept2006
1. "Oops, wrong kidney."
in recent years errors in treatment have become a serious problem for hospitals, ranging from operating on the wrong body part to medication mix-ups. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, at least 1.5 million patients are harmed every year from being given the wrong drugs — that's an average of one person per U.S. hospital per day. One reason these mistakes persist: Only 10% of hospitals are fully computerized, with a central database to track allergies and diagnoses, says Robert Wachter, chief of the medical service at UC San Francisco Medical Center.
2. "You may leave sicker than when you came in."
A week after Leandra Wiese had surgery to remove a benign tumor, the high school senior felt well enough to host a sleepover. But later that weekend she was throwing up and running a fever. Thinking it was the flu, her parents took her to the hospital. Wiese never came home. It wasn't the flu, but a deadly surgical infection.
3. "Good luck finding the person in charge."
Helen Haskell repeatedly told nurses something didn't seem right with her son Lewis, who was recovering from surgery to repair a defect in his chest wall. For nearly two days she kept asking for a veteran — or "attending" — doctor when the first-year resident's assessment seemed off. But Haskell couldn't convince the right people that her son was deteriorating. "It was like an alternate reality," she says. "I had no idea where to go." Thirty hours after her son first complained of intense pain, the South Carolina teen died of a perforated ulcer.
4. "Everything is negotiable, even your hospital bill."
When it comes to getting paid, hospitals have their work cut out for them. Medical bills are a major cause of bankruptcy in the U.S., and when collectors are put on the case, they take up to 25% of what is reclaimed, according to Mark Friedman, founder of billing consultant Premium Healthcare Services. That leaves room for some bargaining.
5. "Yes, we take your insurance — but we're not sure about the anesthesiologist."
The last thing on your mind before surgery is making sure every doctor involved is in your network. But since the answer is often no for anesthesiologists, pathologists and radiologists, what's a patient to do? Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer and patient advocate Michael A. Weiss repeatedly turned away out-of-network pain-management doctors on a recent visit to the hospital.
6. "Sometimes we bill you twice."
Crack the code of medical bills and you may find a few surprises: charges for services you never received, or for routine items such as gowns and gloves that should not be billed separately. Clerical errors are often the reason for mistakes; one transposed number in a billing code can result in a charge for placing a catheter in an artery versus a vein — a difference of more than $3,900, Stull says.
7. "All hospitals are not created equal."
How do you tell a good hospital from a bad one? For one thing, nurses. When it comes to their own families, medical workers favor institutions that attract nurses. But they're harder to find as the country's nursing shortage intensifies — by 2020, 44 states could be facing a serious deficit. Low nurse staffing directly affected patient outcomes, resulting in more problems such as urinary tract infections, shock and gastrointestinal bleeding, according to a 2001 study by Harvard and Vanderbilt University professors.
8. "Most ERs are in need of some urgent care themselves."
A new study from the Institute of Medicine found that hospital emergency departments are overburdened, underfunded and ill prepared to handle disasters as the number of people turning to ERs for primary care keeps rising. An ambulance is turned away from an ER once every minute due to overcrowding, according to the study; the situation is exacerbated by shortages in many of the "on call" backup services for cardiologists, orthopedists and neurosurgeons. And it's getting worse. Currently, 73% of ER directors report inadequate coverage by on-call specialists, versus 67% in 2004, according to a survey conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
9. "Avoid hospitals in July like the plague."
If you can, stay out of the hospital during the summer — especially July. That's the month when medical students become interns, interns become residents, and residents become fellows and full-fledged doctors. In other words, a good portion of the staff at any given teaching hospital are new on the job.
10. "Sometimes we don't keep our mouths zipped."
Contrary to what you might think, sharing patient information with a third party is often perfectly legal. In certain cases, the law allows your medical records to be disclosed without asking or even notifying you.
If you want to access your medical records, you don't have to steal them like Elaine did on Seinfeld after she learned a doctor had marked her as a difficult patient. You are legally entitled to see, copy and ask for corrections to your medical records.
URL for this FULL ARTICLE -- http://www.smartmoney.com/10things/index.cfm?story=october2006
|
|
  |
|
| Sep 14, 2006 @ 2:36 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
tyrannyforyou
Posts: 3,066
|
who actually pays their hospital bills? either you have insurance or the bills get tossed in the trash because they are astronomical.
two basic rules folks: in the u.s.- hospitals must treat you if you go to the emergency room and they have to give the same standard of care that they would give to someone with the greatest insurance ever.
a free ambulance ride= stopping treatment a block from the hospital and getting out.
|
| |
|
| Sep 18, 2006 @ 9:29 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
Heaveninawildflower
Posts: 15,333
|
charges for services you never received,
I was very happy that my insurance company disallowed a charge from a specialist (decoding it informed me that he'd charged for a surgical procedure, when he'd barely examined me). I really enjoyed reading the letters from him threatening to take me to court for non-payment of the additional charges...I'd have been thrilled to rake him over the coals but couldn't be bothered bringing suit against him...even though I should have.
|
|
| |
|
| Sep 24, 2006 @ 3:56 AM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
Dovestreasure
Posts: 3,415
|
I jjust got out of a ten day hospital stay after surgery. I have health insurance but shudder to think of my share of cost when the bill comes my way. My bill for a six day stay in 2004 was 950.00, My four day stay in January 2006 was only 250.00. I am still trying to pay those bills off. My medical care in January was substandard as best. My sheets were never changed , the floors were never mopped. I was left off my IV medication all day one. I was also being treated for pneumonia and they administered medication only once and somehow overlooked giving it to me again. It was not unusual to wait nearly 45 minutes for a nurse to respond to a call for help. I was on a liquid diet and before I left the hospital my doctor ordered a different diet to make sure I could tolerate regular food. This order was never followed. I was not well when released and it took a month for me to well enough to return to work. I did go to a different hospital for my surgery and received excellent care.
|
| |
|
| Nov 5, 2006 @ 3:01 AM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
gonzosc1
Posts: 22
|
#11... 67% of all hospitals in the US are listes as non-profit. if your don't have insurence theres a good chance you won't have to pay the bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
|
| |
|
| Nov 18, 2006 @ 7:10 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
daisy315
Posts: 4,333
|
the hospital I worked at is severly understaffed.. the floors that are supposed to have heart monitors are the worst for having machines that do not work. Nurses sneak from floor to floor to snitch working equipment . We even had to keep our dinamaps (bp machines) hidden when not in use. I even had nurses sneak in and take them off of a post-op patient that needed bp taken every 15 minutes.
The hospital continues to upgrade the "appearance" of the hospital.. new carpet, paint, art, and even huge water features on the maternity floor There are only 6 rooms available for pediatrics. And to "upgrade" the cardiac portion they had to do away with the playroom for the children that were ambulatory
But, the hospital CONTINUES to buy up real estate all over the city and even the surrounding town to build those quickie clinics .. they can turn away those that don't have insurance..unlike the ER.. the hospital just bought an additional 15 acres on the south end of town for another clinic (they have 3 already).. this one will even have a cafe in it. 
|
| |
|
| Nov 19, 2006 @ 8:17 AM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
daisy315
Posts: 4,333
|
when my dad was in the hospital last Christmas I checked the bill before maedicare and AARP paid it. They had charged him for oxygen for 6 days (he was only there 5.. ) they charged him for aspirin that he never got ( we took his own blood thinner meds in with us). they charged him for those bedside wash basin kits ( we took that too). I always take whatever we can when he is admitted because of the price of alot of the non essentials. It can really jack a bill up. I always ask for an itemized bill too. and I go through it with a fine toothed comb . I highlight the incorrect items and send a copy to the hospital and medicare. When someone in my family is in the hospital, someone is with them 24/7.. asking questions and taking notes. I have found that even if someone is sitting there with a notebook in hand, it insures that they get better care (even if they pretend to take notes) I caught one of the nurses outside his room with a bottle of white out once going thru his chart and she got a blistering cussing out from me.. Next I called the DON and reported her.. what shocked me was the fact that this was not a new grad.. she was a seasoned nurse that I had worked with many times and she knew better..
|
|
| |
|
| Nov 19, 2006 @ 8:21 AM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
daisy315
Posts: 4,333
|
even if the hospital you go to is "non-profit"... if you don't pay your bill, it will show up on your credit report.
|
| |
|
| Nov 19, 2006 @ 9:00 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
Artemis122
Posts: 623
|
Daisy,
You're so RIGHT ON.... 
When someone in my family is in the hospital, someone is with them 24/7.. asking questions and taking notes. I have found that even if someone is sitting there with a notebook in hand, it insures that they get better care (even if they pretend to take notes) THX for this Insight!! 
An instance one of my Godfathers went in for Angioplasty (he was over 80 years young) -- he had Complications -- the Hospital shipped him to Rehab after 3 days in CCU...
At Rehab HELL if a Family Member wasn't there he would have been given the wrong Medication meant for the Roommate... (by Nurse Assistants making 7 USD per hour)
Then at 5p.m. (Changing of the Guards) He was told to WAIT for Water and a Dressing Gown when the NEXT SHIFT STARTS....
I almost died when I heard that... 
even if the hospital you go to is "non-profit"... if you don't pay your bill, it will show up on your credit report. WHAT I would Love to Ask -- how can they Hurt the Credit Report or Credit Score of those who's departed Land of the Living?? 
|
|
| |
|
| Nov 20, 2006 @ 7:54 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
daisy315
Posts: 4,333
|
alot of patients and their family's are afraid of making a fuss for fear that they will get treated badly.. they don't want to piss the nurses off.. believe me, that couldn't be farther from the truth.. the squeaky wheel gets the grease.. make a fuss, you are paying thru the nose for quality care that you deserve.. DEMAND IT !
|
| |
|
| Nov 20, 2006 @ 8:26 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You
|
|
SunBabe
Posts: 12,251
|
I went over my mother's hospital bill item by item and found THOUSANDS of dollars (out of about 100K) that they overcharged for. I got right on the phone, thinking the hospital AND Medicare would appreciate it. NEITHER did -- I was basically told to just forget about it...yep, even by MediCare. THEY hung up on me when I insisted that they were a victim of out and out FRAUD 
I would have persued it further if my mother hadn't had a supplemental policy that picked up the differential...but too many people have a percentage they owe after their deductible. 
btw, she was in CCU/telemetry, hooked up to monitors and I was the one who noticed her beeper screaming and the lights flashing at the nurses station -- I had to scour the floor to find someone ELSE besides the charge nurse who "couldn't" leave her desk, to track my mother down. She was at the elevators, white bum shinin' out of her soiled Johnny-coat, tubes dangling from her arms: she decided to leave and go home  (they STILL didn't change her gown or sheets for 2 more days after that incident!)
|
|
| |
|
| Nov 21, 2006 @ 8:38 PM |
10 Things Your Hospital Won't Tell You |
|
daisy315
Posts: 4,333
|
crap like that really burns me up Sunbabe.. I worked second shift.. sometimes when I came on duty, some of the patients would still have their lunch trays in front of them.. untouched because they couldn't feed themselves..the water pitchers bone dry and a wrinkled soiled bed.. I almost killed myself running from room to room making sure my patients were clean dry and fed.. all my patients got their backs rubbed with lotion before bedtime too.. I came in on my days off to give the ladies manicures. I guess thats why I hit burnout so fast..during my last evaluation, my charge nurse told me I was too good to my patients and I was making it harder for third shift.. God, I miss patient care...
|
| |
|
|
|
|