Excerpt from "50 Things Hospitals Don't Tell You"

I hear from surgeons all the time whose bosses are basically beating on them to do more operations. While some hospital systems have moved to flat salaries, most still provide bonuses for more volume. Doctors have an incentive for overtreatment. (Marty Makary, M.D.)

Ask your nurses to do a “bedside shift change.” This is when they share information in your presence instead of at the nurses’ station. This will allow you correct any errors. (Karen Curtiss)

It’s a lot cheaper, and usually okay to bring your own medications from home, but the hospital pharmacy will have to check them to verify they are what the bottle says. Just ask the doctor to write the order. (Michele Curtis, M.D.)

15 to 30 percent of everything we do-tests, medications, and procedures-is unnecessary, our research has shown. It’s partly because of patient demand; it’s partly to prevent malpractice (liability). When your doctor orders a test, ask why, what he expects to learn, and how your care will change if you don’t have it. (Marty Makary, M.D.)

We see crazy things. I had a patient run buck naked into the ER waiting room. A patient asked me out while I was holding a basin, catching his vomit. We pull insects out of people’s ears on a regular basis. (An ER nurse)

Spiritual care is not a profitable area for hospitals, so it gets cut. The vast majority of hospitals don’t have enough chaplains, and some U.S. hospitals today have no chaplains at all. (Rev. Eric Hall)

Hospital staffers sometimes place bets on patients. Guess the Blood Alcohol level is a common game, where money (or drinks) change hands. Others try to guess the injuries of a patient arriving via ambulance. Surgeons have been observed placing bets on outcomes of risky procedures. (Alexandra Robbins)

Your surgeon may be doing someone else’s surgery at the same time as yours,… so your surgeon may not be present for as much as half of your operation. …Ask about this beforehand. (Marty Makary, M.D.)

Hospital toiletries are awful. The lotion is watery. The bars of soap are so harsh they dry out your skin. There is no conditioner. The toilet paper is rough. Come with your own. (Michele Curtis, M.D.)

If you are feeling good and you are stable, ask your doctor whether you can sleep undisturbed between midnight and six a.m. I can write a note directing the nurses not to check your vital signs (during those hours).” (Michele Curtis, M.D.)

Reader's Digest, February 2016