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Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

designweek.co.uk

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Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#81
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most patients can't afford the organised health insurance scam industry. That's where most of the money goes. Ending that scam and asking patients to add an extra percent or two on their bills to pay for good food and a good environment would barely be a rounding error compared to the banditry that forces them to pay outrageous and unjustifiable fees for common meds and routine medical services - never mind specialis…

Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. They introduce many problems into the healthcare market, but if you think they’re the reason people can’t afford healthcare, you are mistaken. I don’t mean to sound snarky here, but: if you believe you can boil down one of the most fractured, complex, and heavily regulated industries (really, set of inter-related industries) in the country to a single…

The wages of all the people working in health insurance don't appear as profit, but if you removed the industry all that money - and the rents - would be released. To recapitulate it's not just the profit, it's the entire sectors costs that you release by removing the need for that sector.

There would be incidental costs, like more unemployment, and possibly some more admin within the healthcare system; though from what I hear it would more probably reduce admin costs on the healthcare end too.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#82
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be interested to know if this artwork actually would actually have the same result for certain people, i.e. goths, punks, or other alternative artists.

I would be pretty stoked to see H.R. Giger artwork in any place (I have visited his gallery & cafe!), but I think it might be bad to dwell on it for a long time, since it would probably push you towards thoughts about existential questions and the nature of humanity, things like that. Probably not the best subjects for when you're already anxious about possibly-life-threatening hospital situations, heh.

The folks who decorated Denver International Airport would like a word with you...

https://www.outtherecolorado.com/gallery/whats-creepy-apocal...

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quality meals ... when my dad had his heart surgery his first solid meal was a low quality, high-fat hamburger on a plain white bun (no tomato or lettuce, just ketchup), salad with enough ranch dressing for 4 salads and a plastic container with peaches soaked in syrup (ie. HFCS). I was horrified. I mentioned it to his cardiologist who, to his credit, went on a rant about how the food seems to be especially chosen to…

Which country are you in? The mention of HFCS suggests USA, but [USA based?] companies have pushed that in to a lot of foods in UK now it seems so ...?

Canada. We share a lot of food supply chains with the US, including access to artificially cheap HFCS.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#84
post #16

I have been working in some fast-growing software companies. Every few years, we change office and get one in a better place, with new furniture, fancier each time, tv monitor is everywhere, each wall had pictures and was colourful. I had to go to the hospital, nothing serious. It was so extremely sad to see 30-40 years old furniture, dark rooms that had never been re-painted, power outlets had been refurbished for t…

The mention of Spain reminded me of the Sant Pau hospital, which Domènech i Montaner designed in contrast to typical hospitals with the idea that beautiful places could be more therapeutic. It's a restored UNESCO site now that hosts events rather than patients (it stopped functioning as a hospital a decade ago). It being built 100 years ago, I imagine it may fall short in suitedness for medicine today, but the conversion of beautiful place to museum/event venue aligns a bit with your sentiment.

https://www.barcelonas.com/hospital-de-sant-pau.html

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#85

When not in hospital, we suggest people need mental stimulation, exercise, good food and daylight to stay healthy and sane. None of these things are possible when you're convalescing. Don't get me wrong, I'm _very_ thankful for the fact I still have both my legs, but staying sane is extremely difficult. Half of the bays on my ward literally had no windows. There were people around me that hadn't seen daylight in over…

I'm assuming you're in the UK? The hospitals I've used in London had plenty of art in corridors, but not in the wards. They also had a library of sorts: a bookshelf on wheels that the volunteers could bring round on request. They also had free WiFi that clashed somewhat with the signs warning not to use mobile phones. The built in pay TV and phone was ghastly though - I assume its to price gouge old patients as everyone else I saw was using their own device.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#87
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know that there are countries where it is worse, I am happy that everyone in the country had free health care. But, it could be much better. Doctor's offices in the US look nicer than those in Italy, where I lived for a number of years. But ultimately, patients pay for that, and overall the US health care system is reaaaallllly expensive.

See this NPR interview with a healthcare expert from the Kaiser Foundation: GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, why do people get hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for staying in a hospital? ROSENTHAL: Well, the first thing I tell people when they ask me this question is to go into your local hospital and look around. And the marble lobbies, the art, the concierges at the front desk - our hospitals look like not five-sta…

> And the marble lobbies, the art, the concierges at the front desk - our hospitals look like not five-star hotels - seven-star hotels.

Is there specific examples of these hospitals? I've never seen anything that extravagant in any of the hospitals in Pittsburgh.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#88
post #16

I have been working in some fast-growing software companies. Every few years, we change office and get one in a better place, with new furniture, fancier each time, tv monitor is everywhere, each wall had pictures and was colourful. I had to go to the hospital, nothing serious. It was so extremely sad to see 30-40 years old furniture, dark rooms that had never been re-painted, power outlets had been refurbished for t…

[deleted]

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#89
post #24

Before everyone piles in with their opinion, has anyone actually found the research mentioned in this article? I've searched quite thoroughly, but I can't find any sign that it has actually been published anywhere. I did find the paper from 2004 and was not impressed. http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/research/documen...

Indeed not, and I am EXTREMELY skeptical of the claim that birth times are reduced TWO HOURS (!!!) by the addition of art. That's the kind of effect you see in papers that get retracted for outright fraud, let alone dubious and irreproducible studies.

Ok, but can you please not use allcaps for emphasis on HN? It's basically yelling. This is in the site guidelines:

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#90

When not in hospital, we suggest people need mental stimulation, exercise, good food and daylight to stay healthy and sane. None of these things are possible when you're convalescing. Don't get me wrong, I'm _very_ thankful for the fact I still have both my legs, but staying sane is extremely difficult. Half of the bays on my ward literally had no windows. There were people around me that hadn't seen daylight in over…

That sounds awful. I'm thankful that all the hospital's I've been to in the US are the complete opposite experience, with the exception of the successful recovery.
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