Study: 40% Of Surgery Complications Occur When Patients Are Home

Meanwhile, in other hospital news, Bloomberg looks at the increasing number of emergency departments that offer online reservations.

NPR: Many Surgical Complications Show Up After Patients Get Home
It's natural for patients returning home from the hospital after surgery to feel a sense of relief that the worst is over. But, research published this week suggests those patients and their doctors shouldn't let their guard down too soon. More than 40 percent of all patients who experience complications after surgery experience them at home, according to a study in the journal Archives of Surgery. Half of those complications occur within nine days of patients leaving the hospital (Schultz, 11/20).

Bloomberg: ER Concierge Services At Hospitals Boost Bottom Lines
Just before her wedding this year, Ashleigh Kondracki came down with bronchitis and went to the emergency room. ... Kondracki was able to breeze through the crowded waiting room because she went online and made a reservation from home, where she waited until her appointment. Hospital emergency departments eager to woo patients are borrowing an idea from the restaurant industry. ER online reservations are available at more than 100 hospitals, including facilities run by Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC), the third-largest U.S. hospital company. Reservations and other concierge services, including mobile apps that provide wait times, are intended to make emergency room experiences more palatable (Armour, 11/21).