Whoever designed the modern day bedpan obviously never had to use one. As a healthcare worker, I've offeed them to patients. As a healthcare administrator, I've bought and paid for them; yet recently, as a patient, I actually had to use one! They look somewhat like an oil drip pan from an alien spacecraft... and to a very sore and weak "hiney"... it feels like one, too.

I've come up with a new rule. Before we buy a product, no matter what the advertising might say, it is important that a real human try it out. It might look good... it might be a great price... but if it is something that is going to be demeaning or degrading to a patient... it is not a good buy at any price.

I actually called my wife and asked her to stop at any drugstore on the way to the hospital to try and find one (bedpan) that looked like it might be more comfortable than the one I had. She did as I asked... but the result was not much better!

Though getting to the bathroom involved a transfer from my bed, to my wheelchair, then to the toilet... it was a welcome field trip! All this due to a small piece of plastic meant for the convenience of the patient