Hospitals attempt to address patient noise complaints

Jun 12 2013

The Wall Street Journal's The Informed Patient: Hospitals Work On Patients' Most-Frequent Complaint: Noise
Facing potential financial penalties from Medicare, more hospitals are changing decades-old practices that contribute to the din. Some are replacing overhead staff paging systems with wireless headsets, and allowing patients to shut room doors and post a Do Not Disturb sign. Designated sleep hours in some units mean there are no routine checks of vital signs unless necessary (Landro, 6/10).