Very good srticle re: hospitals.

[RICHARD]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...ou.aspx?page=1


Good stuff.

[Medusa]

Good stuff indeed. I was shocked at some of the points. Thanx, Richard.

[smokey the elder]

This was interesting. There is a hospital in Tennessee (I think) who is doing such low-tech stuff as brushing patients' teeth, reminding one another to wash their hands, etc.

I have an idea that comes from the idea of the cuss jar. Whenever someone is caught not washing their hands, they need to feed the Dirty Money jar. When it's filled, it goes to charity.

[RICHARD]

I have an idea that comes from the idea of the cuss jar. Whenever someone is caught not washing their hands, they need to feed the Dirty Money jar. When it's filled, it goes to charity.

LOL, we had a cuss jar and at the end of the year we threw a Xmas party. This was before charity was invented.

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One huge moneymaker for hospitals is a pre-set list of charges for every stay.

Instead of charging patients for each item during their stay?

They have a list of things you MAY NEED while you are in-they will charge you and the insurance company for everything on that list.

------------
Example?

A facility will buy prepacked surgery kits for an appendix removal.

They will use 75 percent of that kit and the other 25% is thrown out or gathered to be donated to a charity.

So,if a kit costs 400 dollars, you will be billed the total amount, while they only use 300 dollars worth of material/tools.

[smokey the elder]

Imagine all the coin that could be saved if that was not done. Unfortunately, I think the bills are padded in part because of all the uninsured folks out there.

[RICHARD]

Imagine all the coin that could be saved if that was not done. Unfortunately, I think the bills are padded in part because of all the uninsured folks out there.

The companies like Baxter make kits that way, they sell the kits to the HMOs and hospitals, telling them that it's cost effective. Or if they do not have the correct size of trochar in laparotomy kit? They open a new one that has the right size and toss/recycle the rest of the kit.

lol,

A kit comes with disposable draping for the patient.

I have been to office parties where they really make neat table covers,

[RICHARD]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37577363...th-health_care

yikes!

[Karen]

Richard, are any of the products that regularly get thrown out something that could be used by animal shelters and clinics? I only ask because, if you listen to the latest podcast of the radio show I've been a guest on, there's a woman who collects linens that are going to be trashed from hospitals and like organizations that she then distributes to shelters. To hear it, go to iTunes and search for "all paws pet talk" and it'll be the most recent one ...

[RICHARD]

Richard, are any of the products that regularly get thrown out something that could be used by animal shelters and clinics? I only ask because, if you listen to the latest podcast of the radio show I've been a guest on, there's a woman who collects linens that are going to be trashed from hospitals and like organizations that she then distributes to shelters. To hear it, go to iTunes and search for "all paws pet talk" and it'll be the most recent one ...

I hadn't a chance to hear that show.

Yes, I am sure if you have a clinic or hospital nearby, you could go in and ask...Talk to a nursing supervisor or hospital head/president?

The drapes out of the kits would be really neat to use as piddle pads.

The only problem that I would see? Some places would probably balk at giving them away because of the liability? Germs and such?

But, I think if you meet the right person, you may have a chance to get the stuff.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Great information. Thanks, Richard!! So interesting. Some things I knew and some I never even thought about.

[RICHARD]

Great information. Thanks, Richard!! So interesting. Some things I knew and some I never even thought about.

I worked on a scheduling system that was really nifty, but it's the way it was used that sucked.

It works like this.

A patient is scheduled for a certain surgery, the machine/program blocks out that time, for that day and surgeon.

From that info, a schedule is printed up and that is sent to the operating room the night before.

The night crew picks all the tools, surgery kits and prep them for the surgeries in the morning.

As each surgeon does an surgery, the equipment, staff, time and tools/packs are recorded -that was my old job.

So, as time goes on you get an average of each individual surgeons preferences/trends.

Where the waste comes in? One surgeon may be a 'neater' surgeon and may not use all the equipment in the kits. Others are slobs and hae to be accomodated.

No to say anything about their results, no crappy doctor will last long..

The "preference card" for each doctor even had a section for what radio station should be playing when they began their procedures.

but, my advice to anyone that goes into the hospital is to ASK FOR A DETAILED list of the materials used during your stay.

Go to the Business Office and start there./

If you have to go thru this hell, you will be surprised at how much you can knock off a hospital bill.

Better yet?

Just stay out of the hospital.

[Cataholic]

Imagine all the coin that could be saved if that was not done. Unfortunately, I think the bills are padded in part because of all the uninsured folks out there.

To add to that, I think bills are padded so that the hospital (or provider) will get something close to what they should be getting paid from the insurance company. Provider only gets paid a certain (low) amount per code/procedure. So, the provider adds in every single code possible to increase its reimbursement!

[Medusa]

I managed to catch part of a news show discussing NHS in England. Several commented that they are working to figure out how they can cut down on the time that many must wait for surgeries. They said that the average is 12 - 18 months and if you go to the ER, the average wait is 12- 18 hours. When I told my English friend Clare what they said, she said "No way! I didn't have to wait that long". I told her that she apparently was one of the lucky ones but that I wouldn't want to count on the luck of the draw when my health is on the line.