Choosing A Hospital
How do I choose the best quality hospital for my needs?
Choosing a hospital is a very hard thing for an individual to do, and you're better to ask your primary care physician for a referral, and a referral for specialists involved in your care. If you have a choice of hospitals, your needs are most likely to be met in what we call a Center of Excellence hospital, or by physicians who have a specialty in practice at a Center of Excellence. A Center of Excellence simply means that the hospital specializes in that area, does a lot of those complicated procedures, and are most likely to be able to take care of your needs, particularly if they're complex needs.
In a non-emergency, can I choose which hospital I attend?
You can choose a hospital in an emergency situation, within the limits of your insurance policy. Some insurance policies limit your choices to hospitals with whom they've developed relationships, and some insurance policies will allow you to go to any licensed, accredited hospital. Again, it's important to check with your insurance policy, look at the plan involved and look at that list in advance so you can make a decision and have it done without any extraordinary stress.
How do doctors choose which hospital they refer?
Generally speaking, your physician will refer you to a specific specialist who he knows from his personal, professional experiences is best for you and your needs. In most cases, this individual specialist has already chosen the one or two hospitals at which he or she will practice because they believe that hospital is best organized and best suited to take care of their needs as specialists and, therefore, your needs has a patient in that area. Again, sometimes a physician will refer you to a tertiary care facility or a Center of Excellence medical center - a place recognized for dealing with complex issues that may be involved in your care - and do so in your best interests.
Can one hospital provide all the treatments I need?
Whether one hospital can provide all the treatment really depends on the hospital. Very large, tertiary care, teaching hospitals are more likely to have the ability to provide more services than smaller non-teaching hospitals. If, however, you are admitted to a hospital that is not equipped to meet your needs, for example if you have a severe burn and the hospital you are admitted to does not have a burn unit, that hospital must make arrangements for you in advance to transfer you to a hospital or a facility that can meet your needs. In fact, all hospitals have those transfer agreements in place so that there are no administrative delays in getting you transferred from one hospital to another, again to maximize safety and to make the hospital care provided to you the most efficient.
Can I change hospitals once I start medical treatment?
You can change hospitals once you've started medical treatment. The sooner you're medically stable to be transferred to another hospital, and a physician at the other hospital is willing to accept responsibility for your care, you can be transferred to another hospital at your request. Unless there is a court order, you cannot be forced to stay in a hospital against your wishes, and you cannot be forced to transfer to another hospital against your wishes.
