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Way back when, most people had a porch light on their house. It was what we all did. Last night when walking my foo-foo dogs, I noticed that most people don't have their porch light on. I looked behind me at my house, and it was ablaze in petro-sucking electricity. I could hear the electric meter spinning from down the block.
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Survey results released by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) in Alexandria, VA, showed more patients sought out social networking sites for advice and information on facial plastic surgery before choosing a procedure in 2011 than in 2010. In comparison, the percentage of patients obtaining information from friends declined between 2010 and 2011.
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[Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part series on issues surrounding social media and ambulatory surgery. In this issue, we discuss one facility's nightmare when a temp employee posted patient information on Facebook. We discuss legal issues and employee training. In last month's issue, we gave you some horror stories and told you how to avoid them. We also told you how to be proactive about your online presence, as well as how to develop a social media policy.]
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While state and federal law require that non-profit hospitals provide individuals with notice of the availability of free care, patients are often unaware, and not all hospitals are compliant or consistent, says Mia Poliquin Pross, Esq., associate director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) in Augusta, ME.
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Were suspicious documents provided for identification? Were credit monitoring reports received? Did others report suspicions about the validity of a patient's identify?
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Access management services staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, provide each patient with the hospital's charity care and reduced charge charity care notices, but they go even further to be sure patients are informed of their options, says Kathy MacGillivray, MHA, access management services director.
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Patients with large deductibles often feel patient access staff members are unreasonable to ask for the amount upfront, but what about the other side of the coin?
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Nobody ever told me financial assistance was available." This is a typical comment from patients who are struggling to pay hospital bills, reports Jessica Curtis, JD, director of Boston-based Community Catalyst's Hospital Accountability Project, a national consumer advocacy organization focusing on healthcare issues.
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It's a "tremendous victory to have something approaching universal access" as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the resulting increase in underinsured patients will pose ethical challenges for providers, according to Joseph J. Fins, MD, MACP, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College and director of medical ethics at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Center in New York City.
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I can't work on Saturdays." "I can't stay late on Wednesdays." "I could never do bedside registration because I can't deal with blood or vomit."
