If you’ve recently found yourself in a hospital, you’ve probably found yourself concerned about your health. But, it’s not just your physical health that you should be concerned about, it’s also your financial health. Hospitals can leave you with huge medical bills, but these bills aren’t always right. Hospitals make mistakes. Thus, before you even think about paying your medical bills, look through them closely and consider the following:

If it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen: Of all the places in the world, hospitals are one of the most well documented. Vital signs are written down, medications are noted, every procedure is documented. But, sometimes you may find yourself with a hospital bill that lists an undocumented procedure. If a procedure wasn’t documented, assume it didn’t happen and don’t pay for it. It might be that a nurse simply forgot to write it down, but it may also be that the procedure was performed on a different patient or not performed altogether. Regardless, if there is no documentation there is no proof that it happens. Without proof, there can’t be payment.

Do Some Documenting of Your Own: Obviously, it may be hard for you to document everything that goes on while you are in the hospital. When you are being operated on, you might not have the time to ask for a paper and a pencil. But, luckily for you, hospital logs are created on each patient. These logs list everything that a doctor orders and a nurse or other medical professional performs. Before paying your hospital bill, ask to see your hospital log and compare it to all of your charges. If something doesn’t match up, confer with the billing department.

Watch For Extra Stickers: For hospitals that haven’t yet gone with electronic medical records, the sticker method is often used. These are usually little yellow stickers that nurses transfer from medical devices to billing cards as a way to calculate charges. But, these stickers are often misplaced, or stuck in places they shouldn’t be. While you are in the hospital, remind yourself, or someone else, to keep an eye on the yellow stickers and make certain that someone else’s stickers don’t end up on your billing card.

Don’t Pay for the Same thing Twice: Hospitals are well known for being masters at double billing. You have one x-ray, and they charge you for two. Sometimes this is a clerical error, and sometimes it’s due to an x-ray image having to be developed twice, because of an error on the x-ray tech’s part. No matter the reason, you should not be billed two times for the exact same thing. If the x-ray tech makes an error, that is not your problem.

Be Firm with the Hospital Billing Department: If you notice a discrepancy in your hospital bill, bring it up with the hospital billing department. Most billing departments are understandable and - when presented with actual evidence - will gladly remove the charge. If you know you are right, and they refuse to budge, ask to speak with a hospital administrator.

Hospital bills are expensive, even when they are error free. But, with a clerical error here, a double billing there, the cost of your hospital stay can skyrocket. Be informed of what you are actually paying for by studying your hospital bill and comparing it against actual hospital documentation. Don’t pay for anything, until you have proof that it is warranted.