4 Tips for a Successful Hospital Stay

If you’re going to be spending time in the hospital, it can lead to an array of emotions. Fear, anxiety and anger are just a few of the emotions that you’ll experience. Trying and knowing how to make your hospital stay a success is key to keeping your sanity while stuck in the hospital.

A few tips to ensure that your hospital stay is a success are:

1. Make Sure Insurance Will Cover Your Stay

You assume that your hospital stay will be covered by insurance, but are you certain? A lot of people are rushed to the hospital with the thought that their insurance will cover the entire hospital stay.

But that’s not always the case.

You’ll still need to pay co-pays, and you may find that only a percentage of your bill is covered. A trip to urgent care may be cheaper and more sufficient than going to the emergency room.

2. Fight Bill Costs and Look at Bills Carefully

If you do have to pay some out-of-pocket costs, make sure that you pay close attention to the bill. It’s not uncommon for health care providers to over-bill patients, and you need to catch these errors yourself.

Even if health insurance is covering a percentage of the costs, errors can still cost you a lot of money.

The health insurance company may also have an agreement with a provider that limits the cost. Fight your bill if you have to, and you may just save money in the end.

3. Treat Nurses and Doctors Like Humans

Nurses and doctors are human, too. They may not be cheery and happy like you would see on Grey’s Anatomy, and they may not be wearing those fancy Grey’s Anatomy scrubs, but they’re still human. These healthcare professionals have:

·         Bad days

·         Good days

·         Kids

·         Stress

Be understanding and friendly, and you’ll have a much better hospital stay. Remember, nurses are sometimes responsible for 5 – 10 people at a time. They have a physically demanding job, and they often put your own health above themselves. In a 28-day period, 10% of nurses often have to skip meals and 43% had to eat while responding to call lights.

4. Stay Connected with Loved Ones

One of the biggest issues that people face is that they’re very lonely when they’re in the hospital. You don’t get to sleep in your own bed, your dog can’t snuggle up by your side and if you have a significant other, they can’t sleep by your side.

All of this leads to one feeling: isolation.

Staying connected to loved ones is key to overcoming this feeling of isolation. When you pack your overnight bag, make sure that you have your smartphone or tablet on-hand. You can also choose to log into the hospital’s Wi-Fi, and this will allow you to use your laptop or another device in your hospital room.

Connect to others on social media, and you’ll feel a lot less isolated in the process.

Don’t forget that you can also give others your hospital room’s phone number, too.