It's true that patients are at the focal point in the healthcare sector with patient engagement solutions and patient care software. But, we often see patients bearing the brunt of highly unreasonable treatment costs.
Jang Yeo Im was on a vacation in 2016 to San Francisco. Her 8 years old son, Park Jeon Whan fell off the bed in the hotel room and hit his head. So, Jang and her husband called 911 and the child was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The doctors said the child was fine. There was minor bruising on his nose and forehead. Whan took a nap and drank infant formula. He was discharged after a few hours. But, the bill amounted to $18,836 for a visit of just 3 hours and 22 minutes. A mysterious fee of $15,666 was charged as “trauma activation” or “trauma response fee”.
Many fees that American hospitals charge don’t exist in other countries. But, the highest is “trauma fee” amounting to more than $10,000 and it is applied arbitrarily. Trauma fee is charged by the trauma center when it activates and assembles a team of medical professionals that can meet a patient with serious injuries in the ER.