For several different reasons that I prefer not to share with you readers, I spent part of my life (during the last 20 years) sitting apart of my wife’s bed in a hospital. Nothing so tragic or sad, every time it was about scheduled operations, simple surgical treatments usually, so I think I could be considered as an expert in matters like “waiting in a hospital ward”, or “walking along hospital corridors”, or “staring at the ceiling waiting for the doctor to come”. In my personal opinion I noticed that no innovation at all appears in Health Care in a time frame (1985-2007) that led human being to mobile phone introduction and dissemination, personal and portable computing explosion, and internet birth and propagation.

I’m sure that medical treatment and procedures became more and more efficient and allowed more and more people to live a better and longest lifetime. I’m talking about buildings, rooms, even people, that welcome patients in the same way as twenty years ago, with the same sad aspect and procedures, no innovative ideas for suffering patients, and no for relatives at all.

Some of the most impressive and long lasting conditions could be classified in categories:
(1) “the tv set does not work”: it means all the “innovative” devices that ranges from tv to radio or warning sign button, interphone, that don’t work and remain neglected into your room
(2) “patient requests are ignored”: it means, in most situations, that there is no way for nurses and doctors to record who you are and, mainly, that you asked for some water three hours ago, sorry sir, nurses changed and your request was unfortunately forget
(3) “furniture”: it means all of the stuff that surround the bed, and that are few and essential in helping the patient to understand that… yes, this is a room.

I’m sure that huge and innovative steps are daily made in Medical Science for human’s sake, it’s strange for me that part of the intelligence we use for this precious task could not be applied to improve patients experience during the short (hopefully) period they have to spent for passing through pains and enjoy their life again.

Why do I blog this?
My wife (and I) had the (bad) luck to visit hospitals abroad too, not only in Italy, and it seems that all of these places look the same, same rooms, same people, and the same sad atmosphere. It’s such an Universal mood that could be kind to change.