Pros and cons of medical centers at universities: who should go there

Academic medical centers are those universities that train medical students and include an affiliated hospital. It is called educational and provides hands-on experience to further the learning of these students. Such institutions may call themselves university health systems, academic medical centers, or any combination of these words. What’s going on there, is it worth going there? The publication found out all the pros and cons of such establishments Very well health.

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It is usually easy to determine which hospitals are teaching hospitals because the word "university" appears most often in their name. It may be called the university hospital of a city or institution, or it may simply be called the University Hospital. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, as of early 2012, there were 136 accredited academic medical schools in the United States and 17 in Canada, representing 400 teaching hospitals as well as 62 Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Who can be helped at an academic or university medical center

While anyone can be admitted and treated at an academic medical or teaching hospital, there are certain categories of patients who may benefit from choosing physicians associated with these academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, namely:

• If you have Medicaid or a combination of Medicaid and Medicare, you may be admitted to university hospitals. Often these health facilities are located in urban areas. They are considered "safe net" hospitals and accept patients who are unable to afford private insurance but who have public health insurance.

• If you have an unusual diagnosis or a rare disease, you may be able to get additional care at an academic medical institution because physicians working in university hospitals are often interested in or involved in research, so they like to go beyond their daily routine.

• Teaching hospitals have medical students who want to know all they can about medicine, and sometimes unusual diagnoses are of great interest to them. Their affiliation with a university may mean that they must meet the requirements for publishing articles, and unusual diagnoses can be a good topic for publication.

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• If you cannot be diagnosed, you can get extended care from doctors and students who work in academic medical systems, for the same reasons as people with unusual diagnoses and rare diseases.

• Children with severe childhood illnesses can also get the care they need at teaching hospitals.

• Patients living in rural areas may find that their smaller local hospitals are connected to a larger regional academic system. Sometimes this extended care will be delivered through telemedicine. For example, a stroke patient may be taken by ambulance to a small district hospital, but the immediate treatment will be supervised by a neurologist at an academic medical center in a larger city in the region.

Pros: why an academic or teaching hospital might be a good choice

There are certain pros and cons to working with doctors who are associated with these training centers and hospitals. Here are some of the benefits.

Hired doctors: Most doctors in private practice and those associated with non-teaching hospitals get paid through insurance based on how many patients they see or the tests and procedures they offer. Doctors who work in academic medical centers and teaching hospitals usually work only for salaries. This means that the emphasis is not necessarily on taking on too many patients in too short a time (although this is the case in some academic institutions). The doctor has the opportunity to spend extra time with you.

Research and clinical trials. Professionals working in academic medical centers are often interested in research. These are people who are conducting clinical trials or looking for new ideas. Particularly when you have a rare disease or undiagnosed symptoms, these expanded interests can provide answers that are not from a physician in private practice.

Centers of Excellence. Academic medical systems and teaching hospitals often establish so-called centers of excellence. They focus on specific diseases, such as stroke centers, heart centers, cancer centers, and others. They will group the doctors and support staff needed for these specialized centers into target groups.

Access to treatment: due to the way licensing works, it is sometimes possible to receive treatment in academic medical institutions that may not be available in private practice.

Academic departments. Academic medical centers often offer services associated with academic institutions that are not available at other hospitals. For example, there may be an ethics department that will consult with families who have to make very difficult decisions.

Cons: why an academic or teaching hospital might not be right for you

Here are a few reasons why you might want to avoid being admitted to a university teaching hospital.

Medical students at work One of the biggest complaints patients have about seeking medical care at an academic medical hospital is that medical students play an important role in their care. Teaching hospitals are where you will find residents, i.e. physicians who have received the academic right to use the title of doctor but are not yet licensed. Yes, they need somewhere to learn, and sometimes they can even be better than full-fledged attending physicians. But remember: they are still students. Most of these academic teaching hospitals will provide an informed consent document. Just before you sign it, make sure you read the document carefully enough and ask enough questions to make sure you get the help you need from the people you want it from.

Problems with modesty: if you have modesty issues, it will be harder for you to control who cares about you. With a ratio of approximately 50:50 male to female among medical students, you will have less opportunity to limit those who care for you to one gender or another.

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Dangerous times: one of the well-known and documented problems of an academic institution has to do with the academic calendar. Studies have shown that it is sometimes dangerous to enter a university or a clinical hospital in July, because that is when new doctors are just starting to work in the hospital. Avoiding the clinical hospital in July or August can save a life.

Making the best decision about an academic hospital

Once you have considered the patient profiles and the pros and cons of seeking care at an academic medical center, and if you think the academic medical system is capable of helping you find the answers or help you need, contact that hospital or center and make an appointment.

If you are not sure if there is a university hospital near you, look for the nearest one by link.

If the cons have given you pause and you don't believe a university teaching hospital or center is a good choice, consider other ways to choose the right hospital for you.

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