Comments on: Good Cover

By: Katherine

Katherine — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:56:14 +0000

What a freak. Seriously.

By: Bostonian in NY

Bostonian in NY — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:34:33 +0000

Now if we could only link those national photo ID cards to their bank accounts and put a little Visa logo on them, we might get some where.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:50:12 +0000

Hmm… photo ID to access health care… I have one of those! In Ontario it’s called a health card and I have to show it every time I access ‘the system’. We’re not quite there with having to show it to receive prescriptions – unless the government is paying for your prescription (welfare, disability). You can only get so many Rx’s filled from different doctors before the government database kicks back with ‘query double doctoring’. They’ve even started making the system available to ED docs… (really, someone stole your health card with your picture on it and used it to fill prescriptions in your name?). Unfortunately not everyone has the picture version yet though.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.

Just my 2c. I really enjoy your blog – I don’t envy you the upheaval that ‘the chosen one’ is about to level at your healthcare system though.

By: ERP

ERP — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:12:45 +0000

Wuss! You caved in!

By: Nurse K

Nurse K — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:56:58 +0000

Easy way to solve the problem: Implement a pain policy in your ER. Our PROPOSED one is something like this: No narcotics for a painful (non-cancerous) condition lasting longer than 2 months and no narcotics if you have been seen > 3 times in the previous year for any pain-related complaint (how many REAL patients need to see an ER doc > 3 times per year for pain, not many). The policy is handed out in triage, and the patient has the option to stay or go. If they want to go, they get a clinic referral card. So, with our policy, your patient wouldn’t have even made it past triage probably. No matter if his identity was “stolen” or not, it’s still chronic pain and he still gets no narcs.

By: igloodoc

igloodoc — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:15:54 +0000

WC — allow me to translate as I had just eaten a candy bar out of the minibar and realized I’m gonna have to double the number of shifts I work for 2 months… (FYI .. don’t eat anything from the hotel department minibar or your gonna pay…)

“I probably would have tagged the chingandero with a little spanky to jato him to escape velocity past the carpeted section also”

means

I would have given the patient the “You now know what I know you are” number of pills, usually 3-5 pills, to get you out the door so you don’t go to administration because my Press Gaineys suck. I gotta stop watching VH1.

And Nurse K… I have been a stalk… I mean lurk…I mean an anonymous nonposting surfer of your site. And yes, you melt my iceblocks….

By: WhiteCoat

WhiteCoat — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:44:11 +0000

I’m more than willing to help out someone who’s comes to me for pain, but I typically don’t refill prescriptions for chronic pain meds.
So there were a couple of red flags that this patient was on chronic pain meds, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Despite my chiseled facade, I have a soft heart. Sometimes.

By: WhiteCoat

WhiteCoat — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:40:50 +0000

Come on –
You have to admit the story was original. I had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
In the right frame of mind, I’m a sucker for a good sob story.
Next time, he’s meat.

By: HyperAl

HyperAl — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:54:12 +0000

I had a similar patient whom I confronted with a list of narcotic Rx from different doctors that got so upset with me because she said I was accusing her of being a drug seeker. She threatened to report me to the AMA (that got me sweating bullets). So I dialed the AMA and gave the phone to her. She left in a huff..

They have finger print scanners now. Why can’t we use that instead. Patients put their finger print in the Rx. When the patient comes in to collect the meds he press his thumb to the scanner and if it matches the one on the Rx he gets his meds. That is doable now because the technology is out there already.

By: ladyk73

ladyk73 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:19:20 +0000

oh…calling for the records? He was just spinning his story (so you could second guess yourself!)

crap…I am too bitter to be a social worker