5. Know When to Use a Teaching Hospital … and When NOT To
Medicare data, analyzed by Kaiser Health News, revealed that major teaching hospitals may be nearly 10 times as likely to have high rates of serious complications like bloodstream infections and blood clots after surgery compared to non-teaching hospitals.[iii] What this means is that if you’re facing a common problem or need an established procedure such as gallbladder removal or hysterectomy, you may be better off having it done at a community, non-teaching hospital.
But for more rare or complicated procedures, such as anything that your local doctors can’t seem to figure out, a specialty hospital or a teaching hospital may offer you the best cutting-edge care. But, see below …
4. Avoid July in Teaching Hospitals
This is the month when new medical residents enter teaching hospitals each year. Their inexperience, dubbed “the July Effect,” is thought to be at least partly responsible for a 10 percent spike in fatal medication errors that occurs in July in teaching hospitals.[iv] If you can avoid scheduling your procedure during this month, do it.
3. Compare Costs
Hospitals often charge varying prices for identical procedures. If you don’t have insurance, and even if you do but know you’ll be paying for some out of pocket, price might be worth considering. Especially if you don’t have insurance, know that you can negotiate with the hospital over your bill.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
Generally, the more times a procedure has been performed at a hospital, the higher the success rate will be. Ask if the hospital has data on how often your procedure is done there, how often your particular doctor does the procedure, and what the patient outcomes are. Patient satisfaction surveys are also sometimes available.
1. Make Your Research Personal
It’s important to tailor your research to your needs, as this can dramatically influence which hospital is right for you. For instance, if you are at risk of having a premature baby, look for a hospital that has Recognition for Nursing Excellence (RNE) and is designated Magnet Hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). A study found very low birth weight babies do better in these hospitals.[v] On the other hand, if you need surgery for breast cancer, better outcomes are associated with high-volume hospitals, whereas prostate cancer surgery tends to have better outcomes at teaching hospitals.
When you do a bit of research, you’ll find many conditions fare better at certain types of hospitals than others.