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Show do fine. Butif you need a kidney transplant or something comparable, youwill wanta hospital with a great track record —maybe “teaching hospital”thati affiliated with a medical school and can tap topflight surgical specialists. You can ask at the hospital how along your tape recorder.” Here are some questions to ask your referring doctor and/or surgeon: © Howlongwill I be in the hospital before surgery? How longafter surgery? what the hospital’s record has been. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Orga- nizations,a private, nonprofit group,can tell you if its investigators have accredited your hospital and can send you a free report on their findings, compar- ing your! hoops record with the national average. Ask anydoctors and nurses you know about your hospital’s reputation. The benefits manager at your office or union imost likely has had substantial experience with the area hospitals, And don’t be shy about simplyvisiting the hospital yourself ahead oftime and asking to see the waiting rooms andpatient rooms. Are they clean and welcoming? PLANNING YOURSTAY ‘Nevereverhesitate to ask questions about something you don’t understand or are uncomfortable with,” says Susan Edgman-Levitan, executive directorofthe PickerInstitute of Boston, a nonprofitfirm that workswith hospitals and physicians to promote quality health care. “No question is wrong or stupid. And always rememberto take / iE alee)aml inaLola) ency. Also, a list of Me ale Mattia atch alle When you or, ask him or Den Meet amelme LTT or a your abate Ten RECs seep en be Association.“It's importantfor patients La CREATURE COMFORTS. Rta deod to becometheir own health managers —partners with their doctors." © Whatare the two orthree main problemsthat might arise? Whatdecisions will have to be made for each problem? © Whowill be responsible for my care whenI'm in the hospital? Thereferring doctor? The surgeon? © WhenI leave the hospital, will I be able to care for myself at home? The answers to those questions will help youin a dozendifferent ways,from thepractical (“DoI need to hire some- ogist. You should meet with right. ‘surpri fairieserrata beenae e’s what you should take to the hospital: WEE erl men eiayei) ou must not bejust a potato in a bed that people are doing i thingsto,” i Pal says an adviser to the American Hospital oneto be with me after I get home?) to the psychological (“T'll still be nervous, butatleast I'll know what I don't have to worry about”), Thethird partner in your surgery is someone often y overlooked in patients’ planning—theanesthesiol- PARADE MAGAZINE + MAY 4, 1997» PAGE 7 i ft fi % including any previous experience ia. You don’t want to have an aegio reaction on the operatingtable. Even hospitals recognize thatpatients need assistancein dealing with the medical bureaucracy, and manyhaveassigned staff members,called patient representatives or ombudsmen,to thattask. But it helps to havea friendorrelative who will stand upfor youin the hospital and makesure you’re getting the treatment you need and deserve. Pick that personal representative, put your decision in writing and makesure the person readsorlistens to the answers the doctor and surgeon have givento you, Whenyouarrive at the hospital’s: admissionsoffice, you are presented with a variety of forms to sign on the spot. The temptation is to yield to the pressure and sign away. “Resist!” says Dr. Jay Katz, professor emeritusoflaw, medicine and psychiatry at the Yale Law School. “These decisions are too importantto be resolved in a hurry.”If possible, decide them before yougetto the hospital orinsist on taking the time to read them carefully. him orheras well and find ‘out what your anesthesia options are to minimize your pain during and after surgery. Makesure the anesthesiologist has your medical histo- Advanced directives forms, for example, let you say how you wantto be treated if you are too sick to make decisions on your own. Consentforms give the hospital and/or surgeon permissionto take certain actions because you havebeen informed oftheir plans, Figure out what you are not willing to consent to (like a radi- cal mastectomy before you knowthe results of the biopsy) and write thatclearly on the form. And makesure that your diagnosis, treatmentoptio1 prospects have been explained to you in language you can understand; otherwise, the courts have found, you cannot give the hospital your informed consent. SiE-aaneetiale WE re fasts hich cost mor EG ‘os of your und the roamand Ikmanto drov noises, And don't Came meat} F : a8 Tae ele : EY Sem} TET OCaml INSURANCE ADJUSTMENTS f you treasure privacy, the difference between your insurer’s reimbursementfor a private and semi- : Get help when youneedit. PrvaoommayBe IS} vayhowerecogetps nod amdatance bureaucracy, many have ined continued patientrepresentatives or ombudsmen to that ae |
