You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

PSA has the Knowledge

We have experienced a major shift in the way we receive healthcare. We’ve all experienced this shift first hand in one way or another. Maybe you have longer wait times to get an appointment with your doctor. Then, much less time spent with your doctor during your appointment.

Did you know – having great insurance could be a problem?

Did you know – your primary care physician will not be seeing you if you are in the hospital?

Did you know – that when the Discharge Planner says you are going to a facility for “rehab” that that facility is a Nursing Home?

Did you know- that you could be in a hospital for days and not be “admitted”? AND, not being admitted will result in large medical bills that are not paid by your insurance company?

Our healthcare system has shifted from a model of patient care provided by physicians to our insurance companies driving many of the healthcare decisions made for you. You need to be part of that decision making process. Healthcare today, is now a mammoth-sized business and you must be an educated consumer. Your life and financial well being depend on it.

A new patient has their belongings logged by the staff. The same staff reconciles the list. See The Potential Problem?

Legally a facility doctor in a Nursing Home only has to see a patient once every 30 days unless the nurse notes in your chart that an issue requires the doctor’s attention.

The ratio of patient to staff in a medical facility is not regulated.

Unscrupulous medical billing practices will often reflect a “balance due” on a bill when the insurance company has already been billed.

When you are in the hospital, you may request that routine lab work be done during your waking hours, not the middle of the night.

Privately paid caregivers that provide care in your home are not legally allowed to assist you with your medications.

Discharge planning begins when you arrive at the hospital, and you should be included in the planning process.

Why would anyone need to leave a nursing home to go to a doctor’s appointment?

Premature discharges lead to 40% of post-op complications occurring at home.

Why do they take photos of your body when you’re admitted to a nursing home/rehab facility?

Bet you didn’t know that having great insurance can actually be dangerous.

28% of hospitalizations of Seniors are caused by medication errors.

Without an Health Care Directive, if you are unable to speak for yourself, the medical facility will make ALL treatment decisions for you.

When Seniors are discharged from a hospital, they are told they are going to “Rehab”. No one tells them that this really means they are going to a Nursing Home.