Public hospitals vs Self-treatment; pros and cons.
The treatment of an individual patient by a public hospital or clinic may not be the best option for a particular person with a medical condition. Public hospitals have their benefits and disadvantages compared to private hospitals. Their advantages are cost and safety. The disadvantage is their location. A public hospital may not be convenient for some, especially those who are not attached to a nearby town or city.
Private hospitals may not be a bad option in the case of emergency, but their location makes them inconvenient. They are expensive too and not everyone can afford them. Patients may also be reluctant to go against their doctors’ advice, especially if their doctor’s opinion is that self-treatment is advisable. Also, there are privacy issues to consider.
Self-treatment options have their own benefits. They include home care, where patients can get help themselves and do not have to visit a hospital. There are also support groups like support groups for holistic medicine, complementary therapies, acupuncture and reflexology.
The most obvious advantage of self-treatment is that patients do not have to enter into a long term facility such as a hospital. However, they may not receive the best treatment. Public hospitals tend to be more comprehensive than private hospitals. They offer more services such as psychosocial assessment, symptom management, medication management, hospital discharge planning, followup care and therapeutic services such as massage, acupuncture and reflexology. A patient may have to spend weeks or months in a hospital before he is released to home care, but in a public hospital, such patients receive specialized care and are more likely to undergo successful treatment.
It has been noted that patients in a public hospital often receive better quality care and receive earlier treatment than patients in a private hospital. This is because in a public hospital, each case is handled individually. A private hospital may send the same case to different specialists, which could mean that the disease has spread or that the patient is not receiving the best care. It could take up to four weeks to get a specialist such as an oncologist or pulmonologist to see a new patient.
As compared to private hospitals, nursing homes are better suited to the elderly. However, the quality of care provided at nursing homes may be better or worse depending on the wishes of the senior residents. Some people wish to stay in the home instead of going to a hospital. If this is the case, the quality of care given to the patients may be lower. Some doctors believe that the quality of care given to patients in nursing homes is no different from hospitals. However, it is impossible to say for sure.
Patients who cannot afford to go into a long term rehabilitation facility may want to consider visiting a short term care center for the symptoms associated with their condition. There are short term care centers that can treat the patients for a wide variety of conditions and ailments. The treatments can take place in the patients home or in the center itself. It is important that the patient’s trust the staff at these facilities enough to receive treatment.
When comparing public hospitals to self-treatment, it is important to remember that the treatment options available to the patients and their family members are limited. The patients may need to use more than one type of medicine. They may also have to make frequent trips to the hospital. While the patients are under the supervision of medical staff, they may not be able to share the experience with family and friends. These are all factors to take into account when determining which option is the best for each patient and their family.