Editorial
Hospital guides
Clear answers to the questions patients and families ask before, during and after a hospital visit. General information only, not medical advice.
Choosing a Hospital
- How to Choose a HospitalA practical checklist for planned care: insurance networks, procedure volume, quality ratings, certifications and cost estimates.
- What to Bring to the HospitalDocuments, medication lists, comfort items and what to leave at home, with tips for surgery, childbirth, children and psychiatric stays.
Emergency Care
- ER vs Urgent Care: Where Should You Go?Which symptoms need the emergency room, what urgent care handles well, EMTALA, freestanding ERs and cost differences.
- ER Wait Times ExplainedHow triage and the Emergency Severity Index decide who is seen first, why emergency rooms get crowded and where to find timing data.
- What Is a Trauma Center? Levels I to V ExplainedWhat each trauma center level provides, who designates and verifies them, pediatric trauma centers and how trauma systems route patients.
Hospital Quality
- How CMS Hospital Star Ratings WorkThe five measure groups behind the 1 to 5 star Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating, how it is calculated and what it leaves out.
- What Is the HCAHPS Patient Survey?How the national hospital patient experience survey works, what it asks, how results appear on Care Compare and what they do not show.
Costs & Billing
- Hospital Financial Assistance and Charity CareHow IRS 501(r) rules work, who usually qualifies for free or discounted care, and how to apply step by step.
- Observation vs Inpatient StatusWhy an overnight stay may count as outpatient care, the Two-Midnight Rule, the MOON notice and the 3-day rule for nursing facility coverage.
- How to Read a Hospital BillItemized bills, EOBs and billing codes explained, plus No Surprises Act protections and a step-by-step way to check for errors.
Types of Hospitals
- Types of Hospitals in the USAcute care, critical access, children's, psychiatric, long-term care and federal hospitals explained, plus how ownership differs.
- What Is a Critical Access Hospital?The 25-bed, 96-hour and 35-mile rules, what care a critical access hospital provides, and how it differs from a rural emergency hospital.
- Children's Hospital vs Pediatric UnitHow freestanding children's hospitals, hospitals within hospitals and pediatric units differ, and when each makes sense for your child.
- What Is a Teaching Hospital?How residency training works, who is on the care team, the benefits and trade-offs for patients, and your rights at an academic medical center.
- Nonprofit vs For-Profit HospitalsHow nonprofit, church-affiliated, for-profit, public and physician-owned hospitals differ in taxes, obligations and financial assistance.
- What Is an Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital?Who qualifies for intensive inpatient rehab, conditions treated, how an IRF compares with skilled nursing and home health, and how to choose one.
- What Is a Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH)?The 25-day average stay rule, who is transferred to an LTACH, how it compares with inpatient rehab and skilled nursing, and questions for families.
Patient Rights
- How to Request Your Medical RecordsYour HIPAA right of access: deadlines, fees, formats, requests for someone else and what to do if a hospital does not comply.
- Hospital Visiting Hours and RulesPatients' federal visitation rights, typical rules by unit, support persons for patients with disabilities and tips for visitors.