Tip #10 For The Best Hospital Care: Try Not To Be Alone ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Today we are concluding the series on How To Get The BEST Medical Care In The Hospital:  Insider Tips!  As always, this post is written to "you" but it can be equally applied to any family member or loved one. 


Tip#10:  Try Not to Be Alone!


The best piece of advice that I can give you is if you are sick enough to stay more than one night at the hospital, try to never be alone for long periods of time.  Try to have family members, friends, etc with you as close to around the clock as possible.  Don't have them come visit in a big group--that is a waste because their visits are more helpful if they spread out and give you coverage for longer periods of time.  Have them visit in small trickles throughout the day (and night for that matter).  

One way to spread a stream of visitors out is to explain the importance of shifts to everyone, have a point person volunteer and actually set up an email list or formal schedule for people.  This is what my own family did when my family member was in the hospital last month (the event that inspired me to write this series!) Unfortunately we as a family have had many hospitalizations & over time, creating a visitor scheduling system has become routine.

By making a formal schedule, it allowed my family member not to be alone & allowed each of us family members to manage our personal lives & keep working.  Important caveat--the family should actively encourage your primary caretaker (husband, daughter/son, parent) to try to minimize the time they need to spend at the hospital.  While you are in the hospital, it is an important opportunity to give your spouse or child or parent a good rest before you come home & they will be responsible for your care.  So ask for help from your church, synagogue, mosque, spiritual center, social club or network of friends instead.  Try to arrange to have someone looking in on you about every 2-3 hours.  

I recommend that you keep a notebook in the room that all the visitors should use to write down important things--like what doctors come into the room, any procedures that you get taken to, or anything nursing says that would be important to pass on to the next visitor (i.e.--nurse:  we need to keep an eye on her constipation.  You write down: f/u constipation.  Then the next person looks at the notes and sees they should remind you to ask the nurse about the plan for reducing your constipation).  My father has frequently been very ill--I have a large family & we practice this technique when he is in the hospital since we literally take turns sitting bedside & the notebook allows us to share what the doctor said on the first person's visiting shift so the last person's visiting shift knows what is going on! 

The notebook should have all important info clipped to it inside the front cover--like who your doctors are AND your Medical Info Sheet that we discussed here in Tip #4!

If you have a large enough family or friends and you feel comfortable asking, I encourage you to see if its possible to have one of them take turns spending the night.  


If you can't get anyone, and you are pretty sick than hiring a private-duty aide to sit with you during the night is worth the investment if you can afford it.  


If you are a family member caring for an elderly patient susceptible to dementia or confusion than I can't encourage you strongly enough to hire someone if you possibly can!! That aide however is not paid to watch TV--they are paid to let you sleep quietly, check on how you are doing, re-orient you to reality calmly and GENTLY if you are confused & be the family's eyes and ears.  Sometimes it is not possible to have someone stay over but I would lobby hard (AND BE VERY VERY NICE when asking) if it isn't usual hospital policy.

Remind everyone that you need to rest and your visitor point-person should emphasize this as well.  A hospital is for healing, not a party.  Please be respectful of other patient's needs as well. The point person should suggest that people bring a book or magazine to read, a laptop, a musical device with headphones, etc so you don't need to talk for most of the visit.  While they are in your room they shouldn't be talking on their cell phone or making a lot of noise.  Their purpose is to give you the gift of their time to help staff caring for you be able to perform to the best of their abilities.   

***KEY:  Do not allow visitors to interrupt the hospital routine.  When the nurse comes in to give you your meds, change your wound dressing, give you an enema or any other indelicate thing that your really don't want your family or friends to see, do NOT tell the nurse to "come back later."  You have to be a teammate remember--keep them on schedule & it will be to YOUR benefit-- you'd be surprised how many things about your care get missed as they are passed on to the next nursing shift if the nurse wasn't able to execute your care on schedule!***

See here for questions that your visitors should remind you to ask staff EVERY DAY & things to bring to staff attention.  Always remind who ever comes that it is critical they behave politely and respectfully towards staff members (see my post Tip #8).  To behave otherwise WILL reflect on you and affect your care. Remind your visitors that the staff is very busy and has other patients in addition to you.  If the visitor can safely & comfortably do a task for you--i.e. get you a washcloth and help you wash your face, pass you your urinal & dispose of the results, etc--than they will endear themselves to the staff to no end! 

That said however, don't let staff disappear on you just because you have someone in your room (it happens sometimes, especially if you are a family member & a healthcare person like me or my husband).  If you have waited a reasonable amount of time for a nurse/tech to respond (15 mins or so) and no one has come, then send your visitor to the main desk to ask for assistance. (Visitor Tip:  just standing at the nurses station can be quite a motivator for the administrative assistant or other nurses--wait there in full view until someone comes to assist your loved one..)  In fact, I recommend sending your visitor to the desk for help first instead of you buzzing your call light, but either method is ok. 


Ok!  This concludes this Tip AND this series!!  I hope that this series will help you and your loved ones get outstanding care & make you feel empowered with understanding about how hospitals work.  


It has been a pleasure to share this information with you--please update me in the comments if you have used these techniques & let me know whether they work for you & your family!!


Here are all the previous posts in this series:  

Tip #1: Be a Teammate & Tip #2: Be concise & organized: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-get-best-medical-care-insider.html

Tip #3:  Key Questions to Ask Your Doctor: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-3-key-question-to-ask-doctor-in.html

Tip #4:  Know Yourself--How to Make a Medical Info Sheet:  http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-4-key-things-you-need-to-know-about.html

Tip #5: Know the Hospital Routine: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-5-what-is-hospital-routine-part-4a.html

Tip #6:  Know the Role Everyone Plays in the Health Care Team: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-6-know-role-that-each-person-plays.html

Tip #7:  Know Your Doctors: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-7-know-your-doctors-short-guide-to.html

Tip #8:  Be Nice!  http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/12/tip-8-for-best-hospital-care-be-nice.html  

Tip #9: PAY ATTENTION!! http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/12/tip-9-pay-attention-more-insider-tips.html

Coming Up:

• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!
• A Truly Healthy New Year
• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

ONE DAY LEFT to contribute medical stories to the Holiday Happiness Marathon!! Join us!! :-)

If you are a patient, have you ever had a good medical experience that made you grateful for your healthcare provider and modern medicine?  Or, if you are a healthcare provider do you remember any moments with patients that made you happy you became a doctor, nurse, etc?  


Are you willing to briefly share one of those stories with my other readers?  (stories should be no more than 1-2 paragraphs in length).
From December 19th to December 25th I'm going to host the "Holiday Happiness Marathon:  Doctors, Nurses & Patients Share Special Medical Moments!"  In the midst of all the chaos of the season, this post series is a special week to pause for a quick moment & smile as you read positive stories about healing :-)


I already have doctors, nurses & patients lined up to share their stories (I've gotten some already from the docs & they are AMAZING), but there is room for some more!! 


So if you want to take a quick break from the holiday madness & join the story-telling marathon, shoot me an email with your story (no more than 1-2 paragraphs long) to happyrehabdoc@gmail.com and I'll add you to the marathon!  I need all the stories by no later than the end of the day on THIS Wednesday, December 14 (THAT IS TOMORROW!!).  It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to come from you! :-)

 Hope to hear from you!  

Tip #9: PAY ATTENTION!! ~More Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Ok so today we are continuing our series on how to get the best medical care while you are in the hospital. This post does put bodily functions front and center but I can't tell you enough how important it is to be aware of the following items.  You can save your own life ten times over just by making sure these aspects of your care are properly managed.


For my new readers, look to the bottom of this post for links to Tips #1-8!:-)


Tip #9:  Pay Attention


As much as I hate to admit it--hospitals are dangerous places.  There are so many sick patients and so many opportunities for error.  If you know what to look for however, you really can prevent nearly ALL of these problems.


Ok, now here are the KEY things to pay attention to (I developed this list in consultation with my husband, the Happy Nurse, since he is an ICU nurse & therefore an expert in skin, bowl, bladder, eating, meds & mental status.  So now you have both the nursing and the physician perspective).:-)  This post is written as if YOU are the patient, but you can also apply this information if you are a family member or friend of a person in the hospital.  If the patient is too sick to "pay attention" than you as a family member can advocate as I suggest below & pay attention on their behalf.


Hand Washing:  You need to ask EVERY single person who walks in your room (staff, friends, family) to wash their hands or sanitize them with the alcohol gel.  This in an uncomfortable thing to do but it also is the MOST important thing you can do to protect yourself in the hospital.  Just say "Excuse me, if you don't mind, I didn't see you wash your hands.  Can you please clean them with the gel before coming in further?  Thank you!"  


Meds:  KNOW your meds (remember my "How to Make A Medical Info Sheet post: Tip #4: Know Yourself) and also know what meds you will be taking in the hospital--your inpatient medications may be very different than your home meds.  ASK FOR AN INPATIENT LIST OF YOUR MEDICATIONS WHEN YOU ARE ADMITTED AND KEEP THAT LIST NEXT TO YOUR HOSPITAL BED AT ALL TIMES.  As your nurse gives you your meds, she/he is required to tell you what she is giving you.  Cross check the names of EVERY med that the nurse gives you with your list.  If there is a new med, ask her/him to explain why it was added.  Sometimes you will find that the nurse may accidently have nearly given you the wrong meds.  Make sure the nurse manager knows but be compassionate to the nurse--unfortunately this happens all the time and sometimes its the pharmacy's fault!  Try NOT to refuse meds without letting the doctor know first.  Ask questions and advocate for yourself (like I suggested in Tip #1: Be A Teammate!) but remember--we have been in school/training for a minimum of 12-18 years + our years in independent practice.  Sometimes its good to trust that judgement (not always, but most of the time its a good idea). 


Skin: This is VERY important. EVERY day, your family member & nursing should:
-check ALL points of contact of your body with the bed & check skin from head to toe for dryness, rash, cuts, bruises, etc.  Many of these skin issues are normal (particularly bruising & dryness) but they should be documented.
-The Happy Nurse recommends checking specifically for ULCERS/SKIN BREAKDOWN in the following areas:  the back of the head, elbows, shoulder blades, buttocks & heels.  At the buttocks, check between the folds because many ulcers start at the sacrum.  Also, staff should daily check the genital region for any skin issues.  An ulcer is NEVER a normal finding and should be treated immediately that day.
-Send modesty out the window my friends, skin issues take FOREVER to heal and are very susceptible to infection.  Let them look!

Urine: Watch for dramatic decreases or increases in output, change in color from yellow shades to reds or browns.  Bring all of these to nursing & the physician's attention.  Dramatic increases may mean a Urinary Tract Infection is brewing or it could just be because you've gotten IV fluids!  Dramatic decreases are VERY serious--make sure they check your kidneys.  If you have a foley catheter in make sure you consistently ask your doctor if it can be removed.  The longer it stays in, the higher the risk of infection.  Sometimes it is necessary to keep the catheter in, but other times, doctors forget to discontinue them so ASK!


Stool:  Watch for absence of bowel movement, increase in bowel movement (particularly if very liquid), change in color to black, tarry or bloody.  If you are taking pain medicine of any kind, I put my patients on a bowel regimen of stool softeners & laxatives daily.  Ask your doctor if that is a good idea (there are contraindications).  If you haven't had a BM and are not passing gas and are having severe abdominal pain, this can be a medical emergency.  Tell your nurse immediately. If absent BM but still passing gas for more than 3 days--ask for aggressive bowel management (from both directions--oral meds & rectal meds) if its safe for you & insist on an enema if nothing by day 4.  If liquid, very frequent and FOUL smelling--ask to be tested for C. Difficile or other infection.  


Eating:  If you have "no appetite," force yourself to eat unless you want to stay in the hospital!!  This is particularly important for older patients!  If you just can't manage any food, ask for Ensure or Glucerna or another oral supplement.  If you simply don't like the food, get permission from your doctor to have your family bring you HEALTHY food with lots of green vegetables & also foods with iron in them if you are anemic.  Dark leafy greens are particularly good but make sure your doctor knows you are eating them if you are on Coumadin (warfarin) so they can adjust your Coumadin dose appropriately.  Never eat food from home without your doctor's explicit permission.  DRINK a lot of water & other fluids, unless you are on a "fluid restriction."  Ask your nurse before drinking a lot--if its ok, then drink b/c you will help with constipation and prevent dehydration.  Do NOT drink sodas!!!!!


Mental Status:  Sometimes in the hospital you may get confused at night and may act in bizarre ways.  You may not remember this in the morning.  Make sure to ask your nurse about this because delirium can actually be deadly.  It may be due to medications or infections.  If you are confused at all during the day or night--bring this up to your doctor on rounds (remember how rounds work, check my post: Tip #2: Be Concise & Organized).  Family members with older patients, make SURE to ask nursing about this and bring it up to the doctor--common causes of delirium include: infection (particularly urinary tract infections), disorientation due to lack of glasses/hearing aids, loss of day/night cycle (make sure that the hospital room is dark & quiet at night and bright during the day to orient you properly), medication side effects and cardiac issues.  Unless it is absolutely necessary according to the doc, ask the doc to stop or reduce the dose of any meds if they are producing this effect.

***CAVEAT--if you find any problems with your care, please point it out politely.  Please also bundle your requests into ONE conversation, like I discussed in this post: Tip #8: Be Nice.   You will DRIVE STAFF CRAZY and really make them massively annoyed if every time they come in the room they are being peppered with requests. This annoyance level WILL effect your care.  Mention it ONCE at the beginning of the nursing shift (Remember what I told you about the the nursing shift schedule Tip #5: The Hospital Routine).  I recommend you ask the nurse as follows:

"I'd like to make sure that I get my skin checked thoroughly today & I know you are super busy but when you have a moment today, could we also talk about how my bowel, bladder, eating & mental status is doing?"  

Pick a time during the day to remind the nurses to check all these things before the end of his/her shift if they haven't gotten back to you from your inital request.  Good reminder times:  1pm for day shift.  10pm for night shift. ***

OK!  I think that wraps it up for this medical system post!  Hope this was helpful to you!  Next time we finish this post series with Tip #10:  Try Not to Be Alone!


Here are the links to my previous posts on these subjects:

Tip #1: Be a Teammate & Tip #2: Be concise & organized: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-get-best-medical-care-insider.html
Tip #3:  Key Questions to Ask Your Doctor: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-3-key-question-to-ask-doctor-in.html
Tip #4:  Know Yourself--How to Make a Medical Info Sheet:  http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-4-key-things-you-need-to-know-about.html
Tip #5: Know the Hospital Routine: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-5-what-is-hospital-routine-part-4a.html
Tip #6:  Know the Role Everyone Plays in the Health Care Team: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-6-know-role-that-each-person-plays.html
Tip #7:  Know Your Doctors: http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/11/tip-7-know-your-doctors-short-guide-to.html
Tip #8:  Be Nice!  http://happyrehabdoc.blogspot.com/2011/12/tip-8-for-best-hospital-care-be-nice.html

Coming Up This Week:

• BOOK REVIEW:  "29 Gifts!"
• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!
• Practical Stuff:  Kitchen Tools That Help & Products I Like! (Gift Ideas?!)

Coming Up Next Time on Medical System Tuesday: 

• Tip #10 For The Best Hospital Care:  Try Not to Be Alone! ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Tip #8 For The Best Hospital Care: Be Nice ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Today we continue our series on how to get the best hospital care--this post is pretty much common sense but you would be surprised at how easy it is to have The Golden Rule disappear out the window in crisis.  The purpose of this series however is for you to learn how to get the BEST hospital care, and if I didn't mention this than I would be remiss in achieving this goal.  


Please be nice is the FIRST & strongest piece of advice I gave my hospitalized family member AND all other members of my family.  So they were nice and things went a lot better (nurses gave quick assistance with a smile & physicians spent longer time in the room).  Take this advice to heart--if you do nothing else, follow this tip!


Tip #8:  Be Nice:  One of my Mom's best friends always said: "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."  This REALLY applies in the hospital setting.  I realize that when your are sick you don't feel much like "making nice" and when you are worried about your family you "just want answers." But the reality of the situation is that medical personnel are just that--people! 

Every person wants to be treated with courtesy and you WILL get better & more responsive care if you are kind to the nurses/physicians/techs/cleaning persons/administrative assistants/social workers/dietary staff.  

I know (from being on the patient side of things) that some staff members don't return the favor & this may not seem fair.  To be honest, I had to sometimes ACTIVELY tell myself not to snap at people last week as I sat with my sick family member.  I kept reminding myself of the following key point:  most staff members are not actively trying to be rude--they are stressed, they are understaffed & they are trying to please a lot of different people at once.  By surprising them by being nice, they will look forward to coming into your room--this translates into more attentive care.

With regards to the nursing staff & techs--one last thought.  Please remember not to treat them like they are your servant & remember that you are not their only patient.  Don't "speak down to them."  If you need something within your own reach & you are well enough than get it (*without doing anything you were told NOT to do by the nurse/doc*), than do it for yourself. 

• Please don't be like a patient I saw the other night who had the staff running in and out of the room trying to please her requests.  The evening culminated in her asking me to comb her hair & get her skin cream for her even though both items were on the tray in front of her & she was more than capable to do so herself.  I had to sit down & talk to her about the importance of bundling her requests & asking only for things that she cannot do herself so the staff could do their job for all the other patients on the floor.  After the explanation she seemed to understand & the staff enjoyed caring for her much more!  

That said, there are limits to this suggestion. If you believe that someone is actually actively being harmful to your or your family members than ABSOLUTELY you should stop them firmly & ask to talk to the nurse manager or patient care advocate immediately.  If its an issue with a doctor you can "ask for a second opinion."  Just no matter how angry you are, take a deep breath & ask nicely--things will get fixed a lot faster.

Coming Up Next Time on Medical System Tuesday: 

• Tip #9 For The Best Hospital Care:  Pay Attention ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Coming Up This Week:

• BOOK REVIEW:  "29 Gifts!"
• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!
• Practical Stuff:  Kitchen Tools That Help & Products I Like!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Tip #5: What is the Hospital Routine? (Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital)

Being in the hospital is literally like moving to a foreign country.  People eat & sleep at different times. There are all these people wandering around but you don't who they are or what they do.  A lot of the time it feels like everyone is speaking a foreign language.


Tips #5 & #6 are your travel guide:  


Tip #5:  Know the hospital routine:

• Nurses & Techs usually change shift at 7 am & 7 pm.  If you want ANYTHING (especially pain medication) ask for it BEFORE 6pm or 6am.  Do not expect to have any response to requests between 6:45pm-8pm or 6:45am-8am unless it is an emergency & you are seriously ill.  Family members & patients:  do not ask to talk to a nurse during this time frame.  Why? They are giving report to the next nurse or tech.  If you want the next nurse to have ALL the important details about your family member or yourself than you should allow them to transfer care uninterrupted.  Your care on the next shift will be better!

• Social Workers:  they usually work 8am to 4/5pm & are INCREDIBLY busy & overworked.  Most ones I know end up staying after the time they are supposed to leave.  If you want to meet with them, don't ask to do so after 3pm.  Ask early & it will happen.  Ask late & you may have to wait until the next day.

• Physical & Occupational Therapists:  they usually work 7am-4pm.  They usually see their last patient at 3pm.  You will not be able to talk to them after this time & You probably won't ever have therapy after 3pm.  

• Dietary Staff & the Kitchen:  They bring trays to patients at Breakfast (usually 6am-8am); Lunch (usually 11am-1pm) & Dinner (usually 5pm-6:30pm).  If you want snacks in between meals you will need to talk to the Dietician or the Nurse.  On the floor they usually have a few sodas, crackers, applesauce/pudding & juices.  Don't expect a big spread in between meals.

• Doctors:  We usually sign-out our patients around 5pm to the person covering for the night.  This does not mean we leave then--I regularly work past 6pm--but what it does mean is that if you ask for your doctor after 5pm you usually won't get them (you will get the night person).  Ask before 4pm if it is urgent that you see them that afternoon.  But as noted above, if you have further questions that aren't answered in the a.m. rounds & are very important to be answered that day, ask the doctor in the morning if they have time to come back in the afternoon before they leave

Next time:  Tip #6:  Know the Role That Each Person Plays In The Hospital Team ((Who ARE These Different People Taking Care of You & What DO They Do??!!))

Coming Up AFTER Thanksgiving:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Insider Tips From A Doc! Part 1: In the Hospital!

If you ever expect to be in the hospital or expect to have a family member in the hospital than I strongly encourage you to read this series of posts & email them to your family & friends.  I'm not writing about food or nutrition or weight loss here but this post IS about HEALTH.  I'm writing this post on hospitals instead of my planned "outpatient tips" because I had a family member in the hospital last week and the whole experience made me realize how confusing the hospital is to everyone but us healthcare providers!!


Before I get to far into this post I want to say two things.

First, if you are one of my doctor/nurse/ancillary staff readers, please feel free to add any other "insider" tips to the comments to be of service to other readers.


Second, when I say, "how to get the BEST medical care" I am NOT saying that we are not trying our best to care for you!!  I am just letting you know a few simple ways to allow your doctors & nurses (and everyone else who cares for you) to perform to the best of their abilities.  At our best we can treat you more effectively & provide you with care beyond our usual high standard.


I planned to make this a single post at first but there is SO much information to share about how to navigate the hospital system that I'm breaking this up in to FIVE posts. As a side note--I don't particularly like the way this all works, but its the system we currently have & I want you to all get the best out of it!

Here are Tips #1 & #2 to get the BEST medical care during a hospital stay: 

Tip #1: Be a teammate:  The only information about your history that we know is what you tell us.  Be an active participant in your care--this is a team effort.  It may not seem that way because since we docs do have definite opinions after spending >12 years in school/training.  But this is your body & you need to take responsibility as well.  


Ask questions (See below on how to organize these questions to get the MOST data).  Understand what is going on and why different tests are being done.  ASK the KEY questions I list in TIP #3 (next time).  The most important thing is to be prepared, organized & concise (see my points below).  Write things down. THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT!!


Tip #2:  Be concise & be organized:  
The key to all hospital communication is "keep it short."   


How can you interact with physicians to get the best care AND get a good understanding of what is going on?:


On admission:  

• Bring the Meds, Allergies & Past Medical History documents I suggest (in tomorrow's post) & have the doc/staff make a copy.  Say that all the background information they need is on those sheets.
• If you have time en route to the hospital (& you or your family member is able to do so): jot down a quick timeline of all the events that led to you needing to go to the hospital. 
• Example:  Monday my stomach started hurting.  It was a stabbing pain in the left side of my belly.  Tuesday I began to vomit dark material.  Wednesday I fell because I was lightheaded and then we came to the hospital

In the hospital:

• Pick ONE spokesperson for the family.  This person is the point person for the family & will communicate all information to other family members.  Try to have this person be the only one who speaks during conversations with the doc.  The spokesperson can be YOU if you are the patient & want to be the one asking the questions.
• Put together a master list of all the questions you & your family have for the doctor. **Make sure you ask the KEY questions I list in tomorrow's post if they are relevant to your situation.** 
• After writing out all you can, prioritize them.  What do you need to know IMMEDIATELY?  What do you need to know eventually?  What do you need to know before the patient leaves? 
• Then go through the list & edit it again making EACH questions as short as possible.  
• If there are questions on there about patient care, ask your nurse (once again briefly) whether you should ask the nurse about these questions or the doctor.  
• If there are questions about what happens when you get home, save them for the social worker at first & if he/she doesn't have the answer, ask your doctor the next time you see them.   
• Pick the HIGH PRIORITY questions to ask the doctor when they see you in their morning "rounds." Give these questions to your spokesperson (this may be YOU if you are the patient!)
•  If you have a complaint, share it after you get the first two key questions done or your entire conversation with the doc will be about that & you will be wasting important data-gathering time.

Important FYI: The doctors will visit all their patients in the morning usually between 6am-10am.  These visits are called "rounds" or "rounding."  If they are a surgeon it will be earlier. If they are in a teaching hospital, the resident will come in early.  If its a community hospital, expect between 8-10am. If a family member wants to ask questions then make sure they are bedside with the patient during these times.


Within a short time period, we docs have to see all our patients & then focus on our sickest ones.  Sometimes we have to attend to our sickest folks first, delaying rounding on everyone else.  This is the way it works. Maybe someday this will change, but this is how the system runs now. 


Do not expect a doc to be able to have a prolonged conversation in the morning.


If you are stable, you may not see the doc again that day.  This may seem strange & honestly, its not really our preference (we'd prefer to see patients more often but it just isn't possible with our workload).  Just know that we are continuing to monitor you throughout the day and remember that everything is a balance between all our patients.  


If your/your family member's condition is serious or the patient is in the ICU or in Rehab, ask for a "family meeting" to be scheduled with the doc to provide a thorough discussion of what is going on with the patient with the whole family present.


Next Post:  How To Get The BEST Medical Care: Insider Tips From A Doc! Tips #3 &4: Key Question to Ask the Doctor in the Hospital & Key Things You Need to Know About Yourself!! (Part 2 of 5)


Coming Up AFTER Thanksgiving:

• SuperImmunity Foods for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!)
• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

When You Have a Family Member in the Hospital You Start to Realize How Much It Helps to Know How To Navigate the Hospital World!!

Its been a stressful week for me and I'm glad that I pre-wrote & scheduled my posts for this week because I would have had to take a blogging hiatus!  I have a close family member in the hospital and they are getting better but I've become acutely aware how hard it is to navigate the system as a non-medical person!  


Sometimes I felt like I was translating a foreign language when explaining to my family what was going on.  This is not because my family is not intelligent--they are, extraordinarily so in my opinion:-)--but the medical world & the outside world are SO far apart sometimes!!!  


I've realized this before (& I'm sure my doc/nurse/etc readers will agree that we are aware there is some translation needed from medical lingo to layperson speak) but every time I'm on the other side of the fence (coming from the patient's side as opposed to the doctor's side) I wonder how people without medical family members figure out what is going on!!!????


I had already planned a post for this week on "Getting the Best Medical Care: Tips for Patients" (ironic, huh!) but I think I'm going to need to expand that post into two separate posts:  one for inpatient/hospital care and one for outpatient care.   Keep your eye out.  I have to say that when these posts come out I'd really recommend emailing them to family & friends.  I think it can make a huge difference in your hospital & outpatient experiences to know how to the system works from a doc's perspective as well as know how to get the best out of your doctors, nurses, social workers, techs & therapists!!