Main description:

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE AN OPERATION IN JULY AND OTHER LIFESAVING ADVICE!

"This book offers practical advice about how to keep yourself free from harm and error in hospitals, and how to assert yourself in cases such as getting stuck with a bad roommate or a rude doctor. Includes chapters on taking children to the hospital and how to be prepared before an emergency." - The Wall Street Journal

Hospital Survival Guide: The Patient Handbook to Getting Better and Getting Out is the essential patient handbook to ensure that you and your family emerge from hospital visits healthier than before checking-in and without having to endure excessive stays, pain or indignities. Includes practical tips, warnings and surprising information you doctor might not tell you, 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.

Dr Sherer will teach you how to:

Find the Best Hospital for Your Condition
Demand & Receive the Best Care
Avoid Unnecessary Pain & Complications
Protect Your Health from Human Error
Navigate Emergency Room Care
Educate Yourself on Your Condition & Your Rights
Protect Your Financial Health & Reduce Your Bills
Choose Between Bundling Services Versus "Fee for Service" - Pricing/Pros & Cons
Work the System to Get What You Need
Maximize New and Innovative Ways to Use the Internet for Self-Education
Deal with the Impact of Pandemic Emergencies, Natural Disasters and the Opioid Crisis on Your Care
Learn More about Artificial Intelligence, Robotic surgery and Using Big Data
Decide if "Medicare for All" is Feasible and the Social Determinants on the Allocation of Healthcare
And Much Much More!

"I recommend this book for everyone, especially people who are undergoing their first operation in a hospital. Being aware of the services offered or not offered in the hospital and learning ways to reduce anxiety can be invaluable throughout one's hospital stay. For health care providers, the Hospital Survival Guide offers excellent insight into many of the uncertainties that patients face as they enter into the unknown world of the hospital. Even though we hear the alarming statistics every day, the book is a powerful reminder of all of the mistakes that can be made in the course of care and what we all can do to reduce the likelihood of experiencing a medical error ourselves." - P&T (R) Journal

Contents:

Hospital Survival Guide: The Patient Handbook to Getting Better and Getting Out

Table of Contents

Foreword
How This Book Can Help Make Your Hospital Stay Safe and Comfortable

Chapter 1
Choosing the Best Hospital for Safety and Comfort

Chapter 2
You've Just Found Out You Need a Procedure or Surgery-Now What?

Chapter 3
The Pre-surgery Interview: What Every Patient Needs to Know

Chapter 4
Anesthesia and Pain Relief: How to Make Sure Your Doctor Knows What It Takes to Keep You Out of Pain

Chapter 5
Taking Care of Business: Insurance, Advance Heath Care Directives, Wills and Other Matters

Chapter 6
Getting Ready to Go: Packing and Other Practical Details

Chapter 7
In the Hospital

Chapter 8
When Your Child Has to Go to the Hospital

Chapter 9
When You Have No Time to Plan: Advice for Emergency Room Patients

Chapter 10
Working the System to Get What You Need

Chapter 11
Leaving the Hospital ... and Beyond

Chapter 12
The Hospital in Times of National Crisis

Afterword:
What Will the Future Look Like for Hospitals and Healthcare?

Appendices

Appendix A
Sample Emergency Medical ID Card

Appendix B
Common Outpatient (Same Day) Procedures

Appendix C
Hospital Jargon: A Sample Dialog (with Translation)

Appendix D
Useful Web Sites

Appendix E
Glossary of Hospital Terms