Hospital Decoded: Your Path to Smart Healthcare Choices and Savings (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798867910709)

Having spent nearly two decades in the healthcare industry, I have encountered numerous patients and their caregivers. It pained me a number of times when some patients whom I interacted with were in deep financial problems due to debts incurred at the time of undergoing treatment or had to dip into their life-long savings to pay hospital bills. Many of the people I have met have had a deep sense of mistrust towards hospitals, and this was not a function of how big or small, reputed or disreputed the organisation was.Often, a patient or caregiver goes to a hospital or doctor and is uncomfortable with the treatment plan or specific aspects of care. They sometimes refrain from expressing dissatisfaction for fear of being treated inappropriately by the doctor or hospital. The unresolved conflict that they have may lead to a lot of negative emotions, which not only may cause long-term mistrust but also harm the individual's physical, mental and spiritual health more than what the disease could have caused itself. Through the story of Ajay Sharma, the protagonist, who has to get his father treated for cancer, they may be able to relate to the challenges that they faced when they visited a hospital. They may have had questions that remained unanswered and be able to identify with the situations.This book is a small attempt to explain to people not from the hospital background how a hospital functions, the various nuances, and processes so that they can save their time, money and energy in navigating the system better. The chapters have been presented as Ajay's experience while taking care of his father and how his friend Dr Vivek and other people give him clarity about his doubts and concerns about billing, consent, discharge, etc. Through the various chapters, the readers will understand the common do's and don'ts of a particular hospital department. It may nudge them to think differently about the challenge that they are facing. This book is written in simple language to make the reader understand the hospital without being made to look like a management textbook. For people from the hospital industry, it will help them to look at a problem from a patient's perspective and formulate solutions that consider the latter's fears and needs. I sincerely desire to help you understand the system so that you choose from a place of awareness, not blind trust or fear, and can make informed choices that lead to better outcomes. The aim is to build trust between service providers and recipients by bridging the gap so that each one benefits equally, we have better processes, and have more faith in our healthcare system.

Author: Shabana Khan
ISBN-10: 8867910701
ISBN-13: 9798867910709
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 11/27/2023
Pages: 226
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.68lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.48d