How To Survive Your Hospital Stay

A step by step educational tool outlining the important points a patient and family should know in order to better survive a hospital stay of any duration and for any purpose and obtain the best possible recovery.

GET WELL AND GET OUT! Most people will find themselves -- or a loved one -- faced with a hospital stay at some point in their lives. The prospect is scary enough, even without worrying about hospital infections, adverse drug reactions, and other alarming risks that have been documented by the Centers for Disease Control and reported widely in medical journals and the national media. But help is here. Written by an experienced nurse practitioner and recognized hospital safety expert, How to Survive Your Hospital Stay offers simple steps to take before, during, and after hospitalization in order to take control of the entire process, including: Evaluating whether a hospital stay is really necessary Dealing with the top ten risks, from medication errors to malnutrition Getting the staff on your side Choosing the right doctor Negotiating the insurance minefield Making sure you are discharged safely and will get the follow-up care you need Packed with advice that will help people feel better when they are ill and at their most vulnerable, this essential guide provides a reassuring road map for avoiding mishaps along the route to recovery.

Confessions of a Professional Hospital Patient is a humorous first person account of how to survive a hospital stay and escape with your life, dignity and sense of humor. The book, written with the insight worthy of a physician but from a patients perspective, relates the TRUE goings on in hospitals and medical care today. Through Mr. Weiss sharing of his most intimate, embarrassing and funny experiences, the book takes you through chapter upon chapter of useful nuggets of information on such important topics as preparing for the hospital stay, coping with nurses in the middle of the night, communicating with doctors, getting treated in the emergency room, creating privacy and dignity in the often demeaning hospital setting, dealing with the pain and setbacks associated with recuperation/rehabilitation and pursuing payment/reimbursement from bureaucratic managed care companies. In addition to the book being a very useful source of practical information for prospective hospital patients and their families, it is unique in its blend of humor and candor in addressing a delicate and uncomfortable topic. As a bonus, Mr. Weiss personal story is truly inspiring and the manner in which he conveys his experiences is entertaining, funny and poignant.

The no-nonsense advice in this book assists hospital patients in skirting the intimidation of hospital bureaucracy to obtain the best care at the lowest price

Your money and your life are at risk every time you enter a hospital. The ultimate consumer's guide to surviving a hospital stay, Take This Book to the Hospital with You, gives the inside information most hospital administrators would prefer that you not know. How to avoid getting a hospital-acquired infection--one out of every ten people admitted get them! How to change your room, your doctor, or your nurse Which hospital departments are most likely to commit malpractice What rights you sign away, or think you do, on a hospital consent form How to scrutinize your bill for errors--numerous studies have found that more than 90% of the bills reviewed had errors, mostly in favor of the hospital A Prescription for Good Health Care Published by America's largest and foremost consumer health advocacy organization, the nonprofit People's Medical Society, Take This Book to the Hospital with You is the savvy patient's most powerful defense against the medical minefield known as a hospital.

How to Survive a Stay in the Hospital Without Getting Killed is an easy-to-understand hospital-survival guide. This handbook explains what kinds of mistakes can and do happen in the hospital and how to prevent them from happening to you. It contains inside information and secrets as told by a nurse who has worked in various hospitals and healthcare facilities in different nursing departments, in two different states, and has "been there and done that." This book will teach you how to protect yourself, from the time you arrive at the Hospital Admissions Office to the time you leave the hospital. The subjects covered include what personal information you'll be asked to provide the hospital, what a routine day in the hospital is like, the importance of not assuming anything, how to prevent being mistaken for another patient, how to talk to the doctor(s) and other healthcare workers, how to prevent medication errors, how to protect yourself from surgical mistakes, and much more. The book also contains an Index, a Glossary of Medical Terms, a Bibliography, and a list of Useful Organizations that can help you with specific problems. This street-smart guide will be useful to patients, would-be patients, and anyone with family, friends or acquaintances they want to protect from medical mistakes or errors.

This guide offers practical tips to ensure that patients emerge from their hospital visits healthier than they were before they checked in and without having to endure excessive pain or indignities. Included are practical tips and warnings such as the fact that July, when the new interns start, is the most dangerous month to have a procedure done at a teaching hospital; EMLA anesthetic cream can be requested to be used on children's skin, allowing for less painful I.V. starts; and washing off all iodine-based antiseptics thoroughly after surgery can prevent chemical burns. Proven tips for reducing hospital bills are also presented.