Hospitals do care about patient care

As president of the association representing 200 Illinois hospitals, I was pleased to see several of our hospitals highlighted in "Satisfaction? Check," and "Hospitals' focus now all about patients" (Sept. 3).

However, the editorial "Patient-centered care only a good first step" was somewhat misleading, implying that patients have not been the focus of hospitals' care in the past. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Patient-centered care" has always been the core mission of our hospitals.

The term doesn't mean hospitals are inventing something new, but it does mean they are using the latest research, technology and other medical insights to offer the best care possible to their patients -- as they always have. For example, patients have better outcomes when families are involved in their care, which is the focus of a current series of patient safety educational programs sponsored by the Illinois Hospital Association.

As for providing hospital prices to patients, average charges for many services are already posted in hospital lobbies, as required by law. Illinois hospitals already provide a wealth of charge information to the state, which will soon publish a Consumer Guide to Health Care listing a minimum of 60 inpatient and outpatient services and their charges.

But hospitals must comply with incredibly complex and confusing billing requirements from federal and state governments and dozens of private commercial insurers, each with its own procedures and prices. This hybrid system of covering patient care costs makes it extremely difficult to anticipate what patients will pay before a complete assessment of their health needs is made. While a procedure such as cardiac bypass surgery may be the same for two patients, individual differences such as age and pre-existing conditions make each situation unique.

When it comes to life-saving care, price should be a distant consideration relative to service, safety and quality - all of which are part of true patient-centered care. Enter the doors of a hospital and you will find caregivers are focused onjust one thing: the welfare of the patient.

Kenneth C. Robbins

president, Illinois Hospital Association

Naperville