How patients view conversations on hospital fundraising

Many patients say it's acceptable for physicians to solicit them for hospital donations, a new small survey finds. Scientists collected responses from around 500 patients representing a general population, and found that 47% of them thought it was OK for physicians to get permission and then share names with hospital fundraising staff. Around 80% thought it was OK for doctors to talk about fundraising if patients brought it up, though almost an equal percentage also thought that talking about donations could interfere with the physician-patient relationship. When respondents were presented with a hypothetical situation in which a patient donated $1 million, many thought it would be acceptable for the hospital to show preferential treatment: Half thought nicer rooms would be a way hospitals could show thanks, while a quarter said expedited appointments would be appropriate.