When it comes to our healthcare we should not take chances with the hospital from where we are planning to get our treatment done. While recommendation (reference) from our primary doctor is important, following points must also be checked to ensure that the hospital we select is a good one and match our need.
1. How is the doctor?
This is the first thing one must check in a hospital. As the treatment outcome greatly depends upon the competence of the doctor, it is absolutely important to know how is the doctor in the hospital, who is going to treat you. Basic things that should be checked here is if the credentials of the doctor are right for the kind of disease you are seeking treatment for. There are several points that must be considered while evaluating this aspect and my post on ‘How to select a good doctor?’ explains these essential points that can help you in making a good decision in selecting a doctor.
2. Does the hospital have necessary clinical facilities?
Don’t take it for granted that a hospital will have all facilities required for treatment. Building a hospital is a costly affair and every clinical facility adds a significant cost to its capital and operational expenditure. It is better to check if the hospital has necessary facilities, like a full-fledged pathology laboratory, imaging (radiology), intensive care unit, operation theatres, in-house pharmacy etc. that may be required for treatment. In absence of such facilities, it could be possible that a required clinical intervention is left out leading to sub-optimal treatment. Or it may happen that patient and his/her family members go through the inconvenience of getting those unavailable tests done at other places.
3. How are the online customer reviews of the hospital?
One of the trustworthy information about how a good a hospital is comes from the patients who have already taken treatment there. Thanks to internet, patients experience and opinion about most major hospitals are available on various review portal (like google reviews). Online reviews can some times be tricky and should be interpreted cautiously. My post on ‘How to evaluate online reviews of hospital?’ can help you in making best use of it for yourself. Follow this blog through email to get regular update.
4. What does your known one suggest about the hospital?
Reading online reviews of hospital has a limitation that you don’t get personalized opinion. Hence, one must always try to get personal suggestion from someone who is known to you and has been associated with the hospital either as patient, doctor or staff. Finding such people may be difficult at times, but can significantly increase your confidence on the hospital. When it is about healthcare one must not shy from taking opinion from anyone whom you can trust upon. Ask questions about quality of doctors and staff goods and bad about the hospital.
5. Is the hospital accredited?
A hospitals quality depends upon a lot of factors. For example, what are the treatment success rate, how capable are the doctors and staff, how much safe is the hospital for patients, do they charge rationally etc. etc. For common people getting this internal information about a hospital is next to impossible. But thankfully, there exist a system of accreditation in hospitals which can work as an assurance to patients about the quality of care they provide. In India, there are two types of accreditation for hospitals, one national (NABH) and one international (JCI). A hospital that is accredited have to comply with a detailed set of requirements that are primarily meant to provide good quality and safe care to its patients. These accredited hospitals are periodically inspected by third party to ensure that they do follow their norms. Thus for a patient, choosing an accredited hospital can be a way to ensure that all those processes that are necessary to get you good quality healthcare are followed. You can read my post on ‘What is accreditation in hospital and how does it matter to me as a patient?’ to know more about accreditation and its benefits.
Hospitals differ from each other. Each have some strengths and some weaknesses. Once you have collected necessary information on points mentioned above, check if it suits your requirements and expectations.
