The other day I watched the movie "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey. The one scene that had my son laughing the hardest was the one where Carrey was racing down a city street to catch his would-be girlfriend in a hospital gown. The scene showed Carrey's "crack" — which elicited howls of laughter from my son.
What isn't so funny is that the hospital gown, according to this insightful Wall Street Journal; article, has not been redesigned in almost a century! This is really surprising given that the gown is uncomfortable, ugly and only slightly humilitating. Luckily, one hospital — Hackensack University Hospital — has had the courage to unlearn its reliance on the traditional hospital gown.
Not surprisingly, patients are more comfortable and happy. If they are comfortable and happy, they might just get well a little sooner. If they do and leave sooner, hospitals can reap some modest savings.
