Prefacing questions with 请问 When I ask a stranger for directions or other information I begin with 请问.  It is especially important for me to use some opening phrase since people do not expect a foreigner to speak Chinese to them, and my accent is far from great.  But I wonder if many Chinese speakers actually use this themselves.  Is it polite? formal? old-fashioned?

Would something else be better?
Before I want to ask a stranger, I will try to get their attention first.

Saying 您好/你好 (Hello/Hi) before starting my question, then 对不起打扰了,请问 or just 请问 (Excuse Me) and followed by the question.

您好,请问附近的医院是往哪个方向？ 
嘿，打扰了，请问附近的医院是往哪个方向？