A disturbing issue in our health care system.

great answer barbara.
the federal govt wants a complete shakedown done before a patient is sent home and if the patient returns to the hospital in less than 60 days the fed will fine the hospitals ass off. im an idiot but im an idiot who reads a lot. my mother spent 6 days in hospital for heart failure in august and she wanted to battle and game around with them. they just gave her a dog pill for 6 days and got busy with the medical testing.

Hospice is wonderful. Our 93 y/o aunt has Hospice, and they are wonderful, very caring and They are truly focused on COMFORT of my aunt. Hospitals have become businesses and "patients" are called"clients".

OMG! How appalling. Another compelling reason to bring in Hospice when the final stage is reached.

Hospitals get sued when they have problems, so they are often bound by law and medical necessity to do all those procedures. If possible, keep folks at home and bring in Hospice when life is failing. The transition to death will be much more comfortable than in a hospital where their focus and mission is on "saving" patients. You could also bring Hospice in to the hospital and most assisted living facilities, too, and they can advocate for you as to your loved one's wishes.

I am not surprised at all. My mom had a serious bladder infection and she was in the hospital for 4 days. The nurses were doing things all the time. In fact, the first 24 hours they woke her up every 2 hours to take her to the bathroom and use things to put on her bill. The next morning I was having a fit. I told one nurse, I thought one came to the hospital to get well. She said nope, you go home so you can rest. Anyway, I found one nurse that I went off on and so they started to bother her only when she was awake. The nighttime nurses would not follow the daytime directions. They would ring everything up they used with mom just like at the grocery store. It was a way to generate revenue and I knew it. I got some of it to stop, but the nurses at night would not listen.

Now, I hold the Medical POA, so they will have to listen to me and I am very much not shy.

The worst part was when my mom got home, I had to sleep in her bedroom for the first night. It was her request. She spent the entire night dreaming about women waking her up.

So hospitals are doing whatever they can to make a buck and they are charging for everything. I couldn't believe it when they pulled a scanner thing just like at the grocery store to start ringing it up.

It is scary, but if the consumer is not aware they can get by with it.

Unfortunately I have seen this too. In 1980 my father in law was near death (cancer of the aorta ) and staff came in with machines to "see if he has blood clots in his legs"- he died a couple hours later. We, as family, have the right to"just say no."

And this is one of our major problems with our entire health care system and no one will address it! Three Doctors say it is time but the dollars are still the driving force in big business and not the well being of those involved.

Unfortunately these money making practices are common. It is important to have some one to advocate for the patient if they can't do this themselves. Learn as much as possible about the circumstances of the hospital stay and if you don't agree with something say "No" If the need can be explained rationaly you can change your mind. If someone is in a coma and not close to death it is esential to put the joints through their passive range of movements so they don't become stiff and unuseable when the coma is over. In the case of this patient the family has the option to take their loved on home to die with hospice or request hospice care in the hospital. Don't give in to white coated bullies!