Additional Recommendations
In Recommendation #8: Ask About Every Medication, Injection and Intravenous Solution Used or Denied in Treatment, I discussed drugs and the potential for interaction. Some hospitals now allow you to provide the medications you usually take and to administer them to the patient. You may have to sign a form stating that you will supply and administer these drugs. If the hospital allows this practice, you will save significant charges as hospitals routinely charge as much as four times the price you would pay at the drugstore.
Source – AARP
In Recommendation #9: Understand Every Procedure Used or Denied in Treatment, I failed to mention that “clustering” procedures, especially in the ICU, is helpful to the patient. Sleep deprivation is common in critically ill patients and may have long-term effects on health outcomes and patients' morbidity. Clustering nocturnal care has been recommended to improve patients' sleep.

The high frequency of nighttime care interactions left patients few uninterrupted periods for sleep. Interventions to expand the period around 3 AM when interactions are least common could increase opportunities for sleep.
Source – American Journal of Critical Care
In Recommendation #10: Keep Track of All Supplies and Other Duplicated or Unwarranted Services Used in Treatment, I urged you to watch supply usage and charges closely. I have since discovered that you have the right to ask for an itemized list of all services for each day that you are in the hospital. This is important because bills are calculated from a “block” of medical supplies, drugs and services predetermined to be necessary for a specific procedure or treatment. Failure to make this request could place you in the category of “three out of four hospital bills include overcharges that average $1000.”
Source – AARP
In Appendix E: Financial Information, there is a brief discussion regarding managing your healthcare bills. If you need assistance in doing this, refer to the Tools section of this web site, specifically to the PATIENT ADVOCATE FOUNDATION.