How does an 88-year-old male patient end up being billed for a pregnancy test after brain surgery? Patient advocate Eric Goldfarb shares a shocking story of systemic healthcare failure, revealing what happens when institutional momentum overrides basic human common sense.

⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:32 - Seeing hospital care through a systems expert's eyes
1:45 - A sudden brain tumor and a rushed weekend discharge
3:08 - The transition to skilled nursing and an unkept hospice promise
4:29 - Finding a pregnancy test on an 88-year-old man's hospital bill
8:06 - Why hospital revenue and billing departments ignore common sense
10:04 - The danger of relying on scripts and standardized medical care
12:43 - Why family members must own the continuity of care
17:18 - A top tip for family members navigating the hospital system

About this episode:
Patient advocate Eric Goldfarb discusses the absurd and heartbreaking story of finding a pregnancy test charge on his 88-year-old father’s final hospital bill. He explains how this error was merely a symptom of a larger, systemic failure where institutional momentum often overrides common sense and patient safety. Eric details the struggle to stop a dangerous premature discharge after his father's brain surgery and the subsequent bureaucratic fog that prevented the hospital from correcting a biologically impossible billing error. The conversation explores how patients become ticket numbers and how the simple act of noticing can be the difference between a system that heals and one that harms. Discover why advocacy often requires repeating the obvious until the system finally listens.

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