Abstract

The practice of medicine and the modus operandi of hospitals have changed dramatically over the past few years. Long gone are the days when hospitalization could last a few weeks. Now the emphasis is on discharging the patient as quickly as possible. Day surgeries and 23-hour observation periods are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Patients are often bewildered by the increasing degree of specialization among medical staff, the increasingly complex and specialized work of various people working in hospitals, and the sheer number of people with whom they have to interact. Furthermore, to ensure a uniformly high quality of care, various regulatory agencies demand that certain protocols be strictly adhered to. Although this is laudable, signing an informed consent that spans a few pages is a difficult task especially when it has to be done in the middle of the night during an emergency. It is no wonder that often a brief period of hospitalization turns out to be physically demanding, financially draining, emotionally taxing, and on the whole, a traumatic experience. This is often made worse if the hospitalization is not planned.