Where are our priorities?

I was told something very interesting while presenting a workshop for an HR group in the health care industry.

98% of companies do reference/background checks on at least some of their applicants.
76% of companies do reference/background checks on all their applicants.
69% of people will check out a restaurant online, or ask a friend, before dining there.

But only 3% of people  check out a hospital before undergoing a procedure. Now I’m not talking about the ER. If I’m in an accident get me to the closest hospital you can. But we’re talking about planned or elective surgery and procedures. Most people choose the one that’s closest to home, easiest to get to, has the best visitor parking (really!), or that their physician is affiliated with. But they don’t take the time to investigate the hospital’s record themselves. I found this very surprising.

Why is it that we’re so particular about who we work with or where we eat but not as much when it comes to people who will be probing around inside us?  Why do we choose this part of our lives to operate on blind faith in our physician? If doctors were always right they wouldn’t need so much malpractice insurance.  But they are human.  And we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to be just as diligent when considering healthcare as in other areas of our lives.

I’ve worked in HR for over 25 years now and these human beings we hire, interview and interact with never fail to amaze me. Summer has begun and it’s a season of injuries, at the beach, on hiking trails, on ballfields. Take care of yourself. And if you do need medical attention that isn’t in a crisis, maybe you’ll look twice, or even once, before you cross that hospital threshold .