When Is the Best Time to Have Surgery?

One doctor explains the ideal time to go under the knife, and how you can negotiate a hospital bill.

No one ever wants to spend time in a hospital, but here are some tips to make your stay less stressful.

Dr. Nancy Simpkins recently gave some helpful tips to Inside Edition. 

She says that whether you're the patient or the surgeon, the best time to schedule surgery is early in the morning.

"The surgeon is always freshest earliest in the day," she said. "The patient, you have so much anxiety — it is best to get it over with first thing in the morning."

There's a secret way to identify the hospital's most experienced doctors — by the length of their coat. 

"The shorter the coat, the lower they are on the status," Dr. Simpkins said. "Medical students wear the shortest coat, than an intern, then a resident, and we attending physicians wear the longest coats. That is an insider secret for people to know."

There is a method to negotiate your hospital bill.

"Never pay a bill that you feel is outrageous," Dr. Simpkins said. “If they say, 'You owe us $8,000,' and you say, 'For what?' and they break it down and you say, 'I really didn’t ask for that anesthesiologist, I really didn’t need that extra surgeon.' They will then negotiate down with you."

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