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Help in the Hospital

Like most patients, your doctors, hospital staff, and family members and friends will all try to make your hospital stay as problem free as possible. But if problems do arise, with your medical treatment, your insurance coverage, or decisions about end-of-life care, there are specific hospital staff to address any of these problems. Your physician or any other hospital staff member can help you contact these resources.

Ombudsman. The ombudsman, or patient representative, is employed by the hospital to help with the following:

• Issues with treatment. Disagreements about your course of treatment or time of discharge, or concerns you may have that your patient rights aren't being respected, can all be handled by the ombudsman.
• Issues with insurance. If your hospital stay and treatment is initially fully covered by insurance, but the insurance provider later indicates that coverage will end sooner than anticipated, or that certain unexpected treatments will not be covered, the ombudsman can help sort out the situation.
• Changing hospitals. If you are unhappy with the care you are getting, it may be possible to change hospitals. You must have the support of your treating physician to do so, but if that doctor agrees, you may be able to get additional help with the complicated arrangements from the ombudsmen at both your current hospital and the new one. (Leaving the hospital whenever you want, even against the advice of doctors or hospital staff, is your right as a hospital patient. See Know Your Patient Rights.)
• Issues related to end-of-life care. If your condition gets worse and death may be imminent, the ombudsman can help you put an Advance Directive in place that outlines your wishes (see Arrange Support Network), or can help you update an existing directive if you have changed your mind about your care.

Palliative Care Service. If you feel that your pain is out of control, the hospital may provide extra help in the form of a palliative care service, if one is available. This service has specially trained staff – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and clergy – whose only purpose is to manage pain and discomfort. Ask your doctor or any hospital staff person if the hospital has a palliative care team, and, if so, ask your treating physician to request an evaluation of your situation. The palliative care team can also help you with other end-of-life issues, such as preparing or changing an Advance Directive.

Social Worker. Most hospitals also have a social worker on staff, or connected to the hospital, who can help patients with financial issues concerning:

• Medicare and Medi-Cal eligibility;
• Disability benefits;
• Employment-related financial and medical leave issues; and
• Housing placement.