I write this from the hospital,” John Stossel of Fox wrote. “Seems I have lung cancer.”
This was quite the revelation — one all the more powerful for its delivery in terse, Hemingway-esque prose. But Stossel, who said he “will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone” and that he will “be fine,” wasn’t here for a meditation on mortality a la Oliver Sacks. Instead, from the highly regarded New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the 69-year-old consumer affairs reporter quickly transitioned into a discussion of why his “hospital’s customer service stinks.”
“My doctors tell me my growth was caught early and I’ll be fine,” he wrote. “Soon I will barely notice that a fifth of my lung is gone. I believe them. After all, I’m at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. U.S. News & World Report ranked it No. 1 in New York. I get excellent medical care here.
“But as a consumer reporter, I have to say, the hospital’s customer service stinks. Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, ‘I’m running late.’ Few doctors give out their email address. Patients can’t communicate using modern technology.
“I get X-rays, EKG tests, echocardiograms, blood tests. Are all needed? I doubt it. But no one discusses that with me or mentions the cost. Why would they? The patient rarely pays directly. Government or insurance companies pay.”
“Customer service is sclerotic because hospitals are largely socialist bureaucracies,” Stossel added. “Instead of answering to consumers, which forces businesses to be nimble, hospitals report to government, lawyers and insurance companies.”