Final answer:
Prospective patients should request information on a hospital's performance statistics and specific patient safety protocols to make informed decisions about their medical care.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prospective patients should request two types of quality management information from a hospital: first, the hospital's performance statistics, such as infection rates, patient satisfaction scores, and success rates of procedures. This data provides an insight into the hospital's overall quality of care. Second, specific protocol details, like how the hospital ensures the safety and proper identification during surgeries.
For example, the patient safety protocols, such as time-outs where the surgical team reviews aloud the key concerns for recovery and care, confirm patient identity, surgical site, procedure, and that counts of items like needles and sponges are complete. These protocols are essential to prevent medical errors and ensure that if specimens are taken, they are correctly labeled. Information on these two areas helps prospective patients make informed decisions about where to receive their medical care.