Seniors in Transition: Being Admitted to the Hospital

Hospital admissions are either planned or unplanned. Planned hospitalizations are typically for surgery or other treatments that are needed but non-emergent. Unplanned hospitalizations can be due to a continuation or recurrence of an illness, an accident, or complications of a previous hospital admission. When hospitalized for any reason, the change is significant and very disruptive.

Be Prepared

Preparing for a hospitalization is easiest if you keep up with medical information along the way. Here are two important things to keep handy:

An updated list of medications and drug allergies or sensitivities;
Contact information for all physicians that you have recently seen, insurance card numbers and financial information, and copies of health care proxies, living wills and do-not-resuscitate orders, if you have them.

Questions to Ask Before Admission or Immediately After

Jot down these and other questions and begin to ask them right away. Here is a starter list:
Who can your family contact for health updates and other concerns?
What is the best time to call?
When should you expect to know the plan for each day?
When does the attending physician make rounds?
Will the patient be in a private room or a shared room?
What items--such as toiletries, hearing aids, clothing, and a small amount of money--should the patient bring? Are personal items such as photographs allowed?
When are meals scheduled?
When are visiting hours?
How can family members get involved? Are family conferences offered to keep family members informed of the patient's progress?

Selection Tips

Your physician will be registered on staff of one or more hospitals in your local area. Also, your health insurance provider will approve and pay for services only with a select few hospitals. Ask both resources for their list of approved hospitals. If you have a choice about which hospital to use, check out Hospital Compare, a Medicare sponsored website that lists quality outcomes measures from hospitals that are sorted by area. In addition to this resource, there are many other sites designed to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of hospitals in caring for specific diagnoses. Other websites include: Health Grades, Leapfrog, US News, and Mass QC. Each can conduct surveys, collect and analyze discharge data.