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[Dalek]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/opinion/hospitals-red-blanket-problem.html?referer=

WHEN I saw my first red blanket as a young medical student, I thought little of it.

One morning, as I rushed around a hospital in California on my daily rounds, I spotted an old man who lay in bed beneath a scarlet cover, a sharp contrast to the white linens wrapped around the other patients. He looked unremarkable, and I assumed he brought the blanket from home. So I moved on. He wasn’t my patient, anyway.

That afternoon, I overheard a discussion about the patient between two physicians. Instead of identifying him in the usual manner — age, gender, medical problems — one of the doctors said, “This is a red blanket patient.”

The significance became clear after I took care of my own red blanket patients: It was a marker of status. At that hospital, patient relations gave them to some C.E.O.s, celebrities and trustees’ friends. Although we weren’t instructed on how to treat the V.I.P. patients, the blanket spoke for itself: “This patient is important.”

Today, I work at a hospital in Massachusetts that gives the same white blankets to everyone. Yet I continue to see red blanket patients. Here, they are called “pavilion patients” because they pay extra to stay in private hotel-like rooms on the top floor, which come with gourmet food, plush bath robes and small business centers.

Whether red blankets or luxury suites, elite services exist in various forms at hospitals around the country, and are nearly universal at the most prestigious medical centers. Of the nation’s top 15 hospitals, ranked by U.S. News and World Report, at least 10 offer luxury treatment options.

Some physicians suggest that V.I.P. services are a harmless way to raise money. Wealthy patients can afford to pay over $1,000 a night for deluxe rooms. More important, if V.I.P.s have good experiences, they might make big donations. At some cancer centers, doctors are even trained to solicit donations themselves. It makes sense. With more money, the hospital can improve its overall service. It’s trickle down health care.

But are red blankets really harmless?

Regular patients lose when hospitals dedicate their best spaces to elite units. One study found that patients in a room with a view of nature recovered faster from gallbladder surgery than those who faced a brick wall. Even having a room with more sunlight has been associated with decreased patient stress and use of pain medications. The University Medical Center of Princeton built new rooms with better aesthetics and found that patients who recovered from surgery in those rooms required 30 percent less pain medication than patients in old rooms.

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[Raxus]

I have never seen or heard of this and it seems like a wildly unprofessional practice. What hospital keeps stock of different color blankets for patients anyways?

I kind of want to call bullshit.

 

[outunderthestars]

Seems fair to me. Why shouldn't someone be able to pay more for a nicer room?

 

[thefit]

If they die do they get to keep their red blankets?

 

[John Kowalski]

i could swear this would be an entrement thread

 

[Tesseract]

Seems fair to me. Why shouldn't someone be able to pay more for a nicer room?

because nicer = faster, better healing

we should be better than this.

 

[lastplayed]

I wonder if there's a special blanket for hypochondriacs.

 

[metalslimer]

Oh yeah issues are certainly take care of faster at the hospitals I've seen for administrations family members and friends

 

[Unknown Soldier]

There are days when I just cry tears of joy for how great Murrica is.

Guys.

Murrica.

 

[Ether_Snake]

So resources are allocated to treating the rich over the poor first.

 

[reckless]

So resources are allocated to treating the rich over the poor first.

Nothing more 'Merican than that.

 

[Tubobutts]

So resources are allocated to treating the rich over the poor first.

And then the medical care trickles down. Everyone wins!

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Snapshot of the red blanket so I can have it on me when I need medical attention.

 

[shintoki]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

 

[thefit]

So resources are allocated to treating the rich over the poor first.

Are you surprised? The American health system is a business.

 

[Link]

So resources are allocated to treating the rich over the poor first.

How will they create jobs if they're dead?

 

[Allforce]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

Well, we're done here. Healthcare crisis solved!

 

[aorange999]

My friend had a pretty rough c-section a couple of weeks ago, her Dr upgraded her to "red blanket" at Mt Sinai in New York because he took pity on her. They went from a shared room general hospital experience to a huge private room with a view of central park, catered meals from outside the hospital, concierge type service for everything they needed. Needless to say they didn't love going back to their 1 bedroom 4th floor walk up lol.

 

[Yaphett Kotto]

Holy shit the system reads like Reaganomics. lol

 

[akira28]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

well if this was socialism, maybe. But it doesn't work like that in a capitalist society.

 

[Dennis]

Trickle down healthcare, people.

You need to give it time to work though.

Once the wealthy are cured they can work on making American rich so eventually the poor can get help too.

 

[John Kowalski]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

well there was that article a long while back about how hospitals would negotiate expenses with insurance companies specifically to get access to money that could cover the expenses of treating people who simply could not pay like the homeless and stuff, but here... i'm sceptical

 

[Kieli]

I hope for-profit hospitals don't exist in Canada. :\

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Seems fair to me. Why shouldn't someone be able to pay more for a nicer room?

It kind of undermines the premise in hospitals that all patients are equal in the force of practice. You give preferential treatment to any and subconsciously it can be to the detriment of others. It's just basic human psychology really, and while I can't find anything blatantly wrong with it this does irk me on a philosophical level. I also think that for-profit ANYTHING in the medical system is totally counter to its ethos, but that's a whole other discussion.

 

[Link]

My friend had a pretty rough c-section a couple of weeks ago, her Dr upgraded her to "red blanket" at Mt Sinai in New York because he took pity on her. They went from a shared room general hospital experience to a huge private room with a view of central park, catered meals from outside the hospital, concierge type service for everything they needed. Needless to say they didn't love going back to their 1 bedroom 4th floor walk up lol.

They know all that stuff isn't free, right?

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

At the hospitals I've worked at, we don't have special luxury rooms but VIP patients will generally have a room to themselves instead of having to share. I think this is arranged by the charge nurses or administration; doctors don't have a say in this. I don't know the financial details but I doubt they have to pay extra for this.

 

[rambis]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

If the poorer people didn't often go broke from hospital stays then maybe you'd have a point.

 

[shira]

Its the new "VIP" healthcare in the US. You donate generously to the hospital and in turn they give you VIP treatment for the rest of your life.

 

[Plaguefox]

This is what happens when the pursuit of profit over every other consideration seeps into more and more facets of our society.

Spoiler

</communist>

 

[Tesseract]

They know all that stuff isn't free, right?

the cost is basically nicer food, a small private room, and a view

 

[Envelope]

disgusting

 

[Condom]

Seems fair to me. Why shouldn't someone be able to pay more for a nicer room?

Why should someone be able to? Money is regulated, what we can do with money is regulated and thus your question is weird to me.

 

[mugurumakensei]

only $1k a night. Last time I was hospitalized, it was 3k/day.

 

[way more]

&#8220;Doctor, I&#8217;d feel more comfortable if we stayed another night, just to be safe.&#8221;

Although there was no medical reason for him to stay, I smiled politely and said, &#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s absolutely fine.&#8221;

Far from problematic, this is fantastic. Hospitals have people on staff and their job is simply to find ways to stick it to rich people and to help poors pay less. At the end of your visit you will have a list of of acronyms detailing what was done to you. A person with the title Medical Coder will decipher these tests and procedures. If you are too poor to pay they may look again an make sure that say, a doctor ordered a test but it was never done. Or they may review what insurance covers and slide a more costly procedure onto your insurance and slide a cheaper one onto your out of pocket. With rich patients they double check and make sure every billable item is accounted for and sent, and re-sent to their insurance provider again and again till they pay.

Giving perks and fresh OJ is how hospitals can remain solvent. If one rich asshole gets to see ducks in a pond after his hernia surgery and it pays for 3 broke people to get emergency appendectomies in a windowless room then bravo America, we are doing something right.

 

[reckless]

Far from problematic, this is fantastic. Hospitals have people on staff and their job is simply to find ways to stick it to rich people and to help poors pay less. At the end of your visit you will have a list of of acronyms detailing what was done to you. A person with the title Medical Coder with decipher these tests and procedures. If you are too poor to pay they may look again an make sure that say, a doctor ordered a test but it was never done. Or they may review what insurance covers and slide a more costly procedure onto your insurance and slide a cheaper one onto your out of pocket.

Giving perks and fresh OJ is how hospitals can remain solvent. If one rich asshole gets to see ducks in a pond after his hernia surgery and it pays for 3 broke people to get emergency appendectomies in a windowless room then bravo America, we are doing something right.

It's more about the entire medical system in the U.S being terrible for everyone that isn't rich. This just points out a glaring example of it.

 

[killer rin]

I hope for-profit hospitals don't exist in Canada. :\

It exists as an option, somewhat... but no hospital does it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-tier_health_care#Canada

 

[old manatee]

This is why we can't get meaningful health care reform. Everyone in a position to change things is a red blanket patient.

 

[Stinkles]

They know all that stuff isn't free, right?

Nope. Luckily it's spread across our garbage parasite middle man of an insurance system.

 

[Hexa]

Seems perfectly fine to me.

 

[outunderthestars]

It's more about the entire medical system in the U.S being terrible for everyone that isn't rich. This just points out a glaring example of it.

Oh come on. Dial down the hyperbole a bit. This is the first year of my almost 40 year life that I have ever made more than $30,000 and I have never once had a hospital experience that was less than satisfactory.

 

[way more]

It's more about the entire medical system in the U.S being terrible for everyone that isn't rich. This just points out a glaring example of it.

Until we change the "entire medical system," I think giving rich people the room with the view and charging them up the wazoo so poor people can get ER services is a step in the right direction.

 

[old manatee]

Until we change the "entire medical system," I think giving rich people the room with the view and charging them up the wazoo so poor people can get ER services is a step in the right direction.

ahahahahahahahahajajajajajajajajajaja

Yeah. The health care industry is a regular Robin Hood.

 

[Dalek]

This is why we can't get meaningful health care reform. Everyone in a position to change things is a red blanket patient.

Great point.

 

[Astral Dog]

My friend had a pretty rough c-section a couple of weeks ago, her Dr upgraded her to "red blanket" at Mt Sinai in New York because he took pity on her. They went from a shared room general hospital experience to a huge private room with a view of central park, catered meals from outside the hospital, concierge type service for everything they needed. Needless to say they didn't love going back to their 1 bedroom 4th floor walk up lol.

Aww, lucky her
If this means moré donations, then maybe its not toó bad.

 

[reckless]

Oh come on. Dial down the hyperbole a bit. This is the first year of my almost 40 year life that I have ever made more than $30,000 and I have never once had a hospital experience that was less than satisfactory.

Yeah its great always having to worry because one illness or injury can bankrupt you.

I love being in the E.R not being able to breathe because pneumonia, waiting hours for a doctor but damn the person in charge of billing it there within minutes asking for a credit card.

Without going into detail, i've had plenty of unsatisfactory hospital experiences (surprisingly mostly at nice, rich suburban hospitals).

 

[Crud]

This is what happens when the pursuit of profit over every other consideration seeps into more and more facets of our society.

Spoiler

</communist>

The shit is going to hit the fan one day and the red blanket society will suffer the most.

 

[Regulus Tera]

If it is just for a nicer room, then I'll say yes. Charge them 4 or 5x more so that means poorer people can get a discount.

and yet regular folks go bankrupt trying to pay for their medical bills

surely the system works

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Oh come on. Dial down the hyperbole a bit. This is the first year of my almost 40 year life that I have ever made more than $30,000 and I have never once had a hospital experience that was less than satisfactory.

I have. Be happy you have a decent hospital close to you when you need help. Because the one closest to me isn't very good.

I've even had nurse friends tell me that if I or someone I know needs to go to a hospital that we should try to go to one further away because the one close to me is so poorly run.

 

[outunderthestars]

I have. Be happy you have a decent hospital close to you when you need help. Because the one closest to me isn't very good.

I've even had nurse friends tell me that if I or someone I know needs to go to a hospital that we should try to go to one further away because the one close to me is so poorly run.

His post said "entire" and "everyone." I have no doubts that there are poorly run hospitals out there, and that people have poor experiences, especially
On ER's. That said it is more than a little silly to claim that the entire system is terrible unless you are wealthy.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

&#8220;Doctor, I&#8217;d feel more comfortable if we stayed another night, just to be safe.&#8221;

Although there was no medical reason for him to stay, I smiled politely and said, &#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s absolutely fine.&#8221;

Would I have done the same if his blanket had been white?

Like, did the author actually go to medical school or is he just trying to pull a fast one on people who probably don't know how common this is?

This (unfortunately) happens all the friggin time in medicine. And yes, they get to stay regardless of their "blanket".

Of all the problems with the american system, this is not really one of them.