Ride home?

[calibrn]

Would I be able to have a hired driver pick me up after surgery and drive me home?
Or can the hospital or Dr. arrange for something like this?

Thanks.

[Litlriki]

You need to contact the hospital where you're having surgery or ask your surgeon what is permitted.  My patients are not allowed to leave in a taxi alone, but they can arrange for a car service to take them home.  We've also had occasional luck with a "Chair Car" style patient transport service.  It's unlikely that the hospital would arrange for the transportation, and I'd imagine that your surgeon may have information about options, but doesn't do the arrangements for you. 

Rick Silverman

[calibrn]

So your patients are allowed to leave in a car service alone? Is a chair car a service provided by the hospital?

Thanks.

[Litlriki]

The chair cars are associated with local ambulance services.  I can't imagine that many hospitals offer any sort of service of this nature, unless they are very "customer oriented."  There's no way for them to recover such an expense.  Around Boston, there is a service called Hotel Recovery, which will arrange a ride and a nurse for a few hours, but I think the fee is $250 as opposed to $50 for a limo service.  As I said, you need to find out what your hospital allows.

RS

[calibrn]

Thanks!

[DrPensler]

We arrange for a bonded driver to take people home when a friend or family member is not available.

[calibrn]

Thats what I like to hear.
Thanks.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

I tend to be more conservative. Gyne surgery is real surgery and the first few hours after surgery are critical. 

In my practice, I require patients to have either a friend or relative pick them up (they may still be a bit tipsy) and take them home or to a hotel.  If no one is available, then we can offer a nurse's aid (at minimal cost) to do the same thing.

I do not feel comfortable having a patient who is immediately post-op get into a car/taxi/limo with a driver who doesn't have an inkling of what was done or what to do in case of an emergency during the ride home.

On occasion, I have a patient try to pull a fast one on me -- telling me that they do have someone and then at the last minute that someone was unavailable.  In these rare circumstances, I require the patient sign a waiver.

I even had one patient have a nurse's aid pick him up and then paid her for one hour's work just outside my office and went home on his own.  He fooled no one but himself.

Dr Jacobs