When You Are Admitted

Your physician will arrange for your admission in advance, except in cases of emergency.  The registration staff will request demographic and personal information needed for hospital records and insurance purposes.  If you have health insurance, we suggest you contact them prior to your hospital stay if possible to determine any pre-authorization/Co-pay requirements.  If you have no health insurance, we will ask for a deposit and financial arrangements will need to be made.  We do have counselors available if assistance is needed.  Several signatures will be required on consent, advance directives, and information forms.

Pre-Op Testing

If your admission is a prescheduled surgical admission, you may be contacted for pre-registration and to come in for a pre-operative testing interview.  You will meet with a nurse, who will take your medical history and vital signs and order any tests your doctor may have ordered for you.  Please bring a list of any regular medications, herbals and vitamins you may be taking, as well as your identification and insurance cards.  The anesthesiologist or their representative will meet with you at this time.  Instructions will be given to you about the time of your admission to the hospital as well as where to report.

For a full listing of things to do as you prepare for your surgery, please review our pre-surgery checklist.

Universal Medication Form

As a patient, you will always want to keep a list of your current medications with you in case of an emergency.  Here are some tips to follow in preparing your Medication List:

1. Write down all of the medicines you are taking and list all of your allergies.  Doctors also need to know the herbals, vitamins and over-the-counter medicines you take, so be sure to list those as well!
   
2. Take your list to ALL doctor visits, when you go for tests and ALL hospital visits. 
 
3. If you stop taking a certain medicine, simply draw a line through it and write the date it was stopped.  If help is needed, ask your doctor, nurse, pharmacist or family member to help you to keep it up-to-date.

4. In the NOTES column, write down the name of the doctor who told you to take the medicine(s). You may also write down why you are taking the medicine (Examples: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol).

5. When you are discharged from the hospital, someone will talk with you about which medicines to take and which medicines to stop taking. Since many changes are often made after a hospital stay, a new form should be filled out. When you return to your doctor, take your new form with you. This will keep everyone up-to-date on your medicines.

How Does This Form Help You?

This form helps you and your family members remember all of the medicines you are taking.  It also gives your doctor(s) and others a current list of ALL of your medicines.  Concerns may be found and prevented by knowing what medicines you are taking.

For a printable version of a Universal Medication Form, click here.