Feeling Like a Number, Not a Person

Why do hospitals make you feel like a number, not a person?

Are you reduced to your symptoms and your medical records number? It’s easy to feel that way, especially at a time when you are ill and vulnerable.

But our commitment at HCA Midwest Health is to make things personal for everyone—our patients, our physicians and our staff. How do we keep you from being just a number when so much of medicine involves numbers—temperature, blood pressure, test results? We start with those numbers and we interpret them, but for every part of it, you’ve got people helping you. Our number one effort is to make your care personal.

Our nurses, doctors and all our health professionals are deeply committed to personal care. We have set up our procedures so all our professionals can concentrate on you. Here are just a few examples of how we keep the focus on you and your treatment:

• Notification of your Primary Care Physician. Your primary care physician is one of the most important providers in your healthcare. Thus, we have a robust system in place to ensure they are informed of your treatment. If you are admitted to the hospital or have been treated in the emergency room, and have indicated who your primary care provider is, he or she will be notified that you are or were in the hospital receiving care. With your permission, your records are then sent to your primary care physician for the appropriate follow-up. After discharge, be sure to contact your primary care physician to ensure your information is up to date and to get any follow-up care needed.
• Patient Navigators. These specially trained nurses work with cancer patients to help a patient set up and navigate appointments, follow-ups, and every part of their care. Patient Navigators make the process less daunting for our patients.
• Time Out. For surgical and invasive procedures, we use the Time Out method. On the way to your procedure, our staff stops and reviews the basics of your case: your name, date of birth, allergies, and what surgery is being performed. That ensures everyone is in the right place for surgery.
• Patient Portal. HCA Midwest Health hospitals use an online patient portal, MyHealthONE, to allow patients to access their hospital records any time for free. But it also allows your HCA Midwest Health provider–whether the provider is at the hospital or in their office–to get timely access to the tests, medications and treatments you received while at the hospital, so we can provide more timely and personalized healthcare for you.

When you leave an HCA Midwest Health hospital, we carefully review discharge instructions specific to your healthcare needs. These instructions go home with you for a clear and easy-to-understand picture of how to recover at home. You’ll also get a list of medications you took in the hospital and any new prescriptions needed will be provided to you or sent to your designated pharmacy. Later, we’ll follow up with you to see how you are doing. Because at HCA Midwest Health, you are never just a number.