Choosing a Hospital: General Information
Hospital Quality Varies
Hospitals, like all other service providers, vary considerably in the type
and quality of services that they provide. Identifying a good hospital
before being there as a patient is difficult. Many times you must accept
whatever hospital your doctor recommends. In these cases, or if you live
in a city with only one hospital, you may not have much choice. Even if
you do not have a choice about which hospital you will use, you should
know as much as possible about it. Simple things such as parking
facilities, maps to the hospital, services offered, and contact phone
numbers can be very helpful.
The quality of your hospital experience depends on the
facilities, expertise and dedication of the hospital staff, and the
services offered. Fortunately, most employees in hospitals are there
because they genuinely enjoy helping people. This ability to work well
within the larger organisation is important since your care will usually
involve more than one hospital department. For those who don't want to
think about the possibility that the hospital they use might not be the
best, skip this section. For those who want more information, but are not
sure how to get started, read on.
Limitations
In many areas around the country you will be limited in your choice of
hospitals by either your health insurance plan or the places where you
doctor has privileges. Some doctors restrict their practice to only one or
a few hospitals. The first step is to identify your alternatives by
talking with your health insurer and your doctor's office (you don't need
to bother the doctor, his office staff will know).
Experience Is Key
In general, you want to use a hospital that has lots of experience
providing the care that you need. For common problems almost all hospitals
may have sufficient experience. For rare problems, you need to be more
selective. Published medical reports suggest that this is the case for
NICU care of sick newborn babies, angiography (a procedure that evaluates
the coronary arteries for blockage), survival after a heart attack, and
coronary artery bypass surgery. Your doctor can tell you which hospitals
have the most experience with your situation.
Transfer to Another Hospital
Transfer to another hospital is a sign that your doctor and the hospital
have your interest at heart. Very few hospitals take care of all possible
medical problems. Ask your doctor which referral hospital she uses and how
often patients are transferred there.
Patient (Parent) Satisfaction Surveys
If you have a routine condition and several hospitals from which to
choose, there are factors other than competence that you might consider.
Hospitals that are truly committed to their patients want feedback on the
quality of care they provide. They use this feedback to improve their
service. Hospitals that do not survey their patients are very confident
that their care is excellent, cannot respond to feedback, or do not see
the patient's perspective as important. Call the hospital marketing or
public relations department to see if they survey patient satisfaction.
They probably won't share the results with you (although some will).
However, just making the effort to ask people's opinion says a lot about
the hospital's commitment to its patients.
Talking with Someone Who Works There
If you can find someone who works at the hospital, ask them what they
think of the department or clinic where you will receive care. The quality
of different departments can vary substantially. Insiders often know which
departments are good and which are bad. Insider information is almost
always the best and fastest way to estimate the quality of the care you
will receive.
Plainly Speaking
Hospital service and performance vary. For routine problems it may not
matter which hospital you use. For complicated problems, it may matter a
great deal. Your physician's care is only one part of your total hospital
experience. Your satisfaction will also depend on skill and compassion of
the hospital employees that care for you during your hospital stay.
Also see >Hospitals - How
they differ |
