Chapter 12: part 1

continued from chapter 11: part 6

Your introduction to the hospital system will begin either by way of the Admitting or Emergency departments. Hal's admissions always began hurriedly through the Emergency department and the good news is that you will have experienced staff on hand. Emergency patients generally go to the head of line for X-Rays and other tests, but the-not-so-good news is that there will still be delays and they can be maddening. Each patient is on a priority list for care so you wait, and in a perverse way, it's encouraging to know that there are others ahead of you with more urgent needs.

There won't be a bed immediately available if your partner is to be admitted; you can pretty well bet the farm on that. So, while you watch him struggling to get comfortable on that hard pallet, your mind plays tricks with you about what's happening to the person who is currently occupying the bed you're waiting for.

No matter how you make your entrance, you will begin with the admitting clerk and you will part with a lot of information in return for your bradma, a plastic card that you must present each time you come in. The bradma is keyed into your file in the computer, and you will be required to give the same information already on the file to ensure that everything you told them before is unchanged. Even if you've been in and out a dozen times, the clerk will start from scratch, asking you for exactly the same information.

What you've read so far gives you an inkling of what to expect on your first visit and now it's time to prepare in case of need for a second or more visits. Take a few minutes and rough out on a file card everything you might be asked such as your full name, address, phone number, next of kin, and then type or print the information neatly on a file card. You'll also need the family doctor's name, address and phone number, which is not something etched into my memory. Also the name and address of the oncologist or surgeon or whoever else as involved in your ongoing care. Next time, simply hand over the card and let the clerk verify the information from there. This simple act will guarantee a healthy drop in your blood pressure.

continued in chapter 12: part 2