Comments for WhiteCoat's Call Room

Comment on Healthcare Update Satellite — 05-07-2013 by SeaSpray

SeaSpray — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:31:58 +0000

I think it is ridiculous when hospital’s advertise that way, putting medical staff under pressure for PR purposes and it is ridiculous for patients to expect the same when it is an EMERGENCY department they have gone to where serious cases and/or high patient volume can/will cause longer wait times. Maybe with fast track, but even then patients can end up having more wrong then what they thought they went in for.

Regarding your spam filter: Come on WC! Math is NOT my strong suit.

Comment on A Death Knell for Press Ganey? by Porcoimundo

Porcoimundo — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:58:44 +0000

Press Ganey goes beyond affecting clinical staff: it does come down hard on support services, mostly housekeeping that so happens to be my thing. It’s very common to come across comments such as “I had a four day stay and not once saw a housekeeper” or “During my stay my bed linen was never changed”. Considering that these comments often come from Med-Surg floors I cannot help to think how much of this perception is basically induced into the surveyed population by the questions as they are written. Those of us who day in and day out dwell in a busy hospital very well know how financially critical it is to keep discharges going at a frantic pace, with the level of “stat” beds being called on the bedboards and how it affects the proper sanitization of a patient room and, more importantly, of a semi-private patient room. So here we are, discharging a bed that is separated from the other one by a flimsy privacy curtain, lights on looking for dirt and blood spots, dealing with trash, suction canisters,IV poles and whatever else equipments are left behind. The next you know the patient on the other side will get a survey at home and one of the questions will be in regards to the “quietness” of the environment. Press Ganey chips in and all of a sudden hospitals start being judged by hotel standards, like beeping monitoring equipment, carts on wheels providing different services are an unnecessary nuisance. As a matter of fact I had the opportunity to watch first hand when the company servicing the Boston Children’s Hospital brought in someone with a hotel background to run housekeeping. Needless to say what a true disaster that experiment was! All hospitals are short staffed on both ends, clinical and support services, but still pressed to deliver above and beyond on a routine basis, to the point you can stick your finger in an electrical outlet and not even feel the shock. Patient care? Hardly.

Comment on Suing Doctors For Patient Addictions by DJ

DJ — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:45:11 +0000

Wow. Judgemental much?
I happen to agree with your statement about there being a possibility for future cancer patients not getting the treatment they need if I was to take further action. But I wonder what exactly makes you assume that I am “living on welfare looking for even more “free money””? Ever consider that my cancer diagnosis wasn’t the only reason I am on disability? And really?? Did you read the post where I said I’m okay with coming off the meds? Its difficult, yes. But i have a choice every day to simply call up any unscrupulous doctor and get a prescription any time I want. I don’t do that. I’m sticking with the doctor who is weening me, because I believe it needs to be done. All you seem to have read was that I want more medicine, when I don’t.
You have no idea what Im grateful for – and I’m not going to address that since that not what this topic was about.
But you did make a very good point about how one persons actions could affect others who need the same type of care and treatment that I received. Too bad the rest of your response was an attack rather than more good ideas for me to ponder like that.

Comment on Suing Doctors For Patient Addictions by Jemma

Jemma — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:11:18 +0000

If you sue your doctor and the “very large cancer center” for having prescribed you opioids for cancer pain, you may well make it that much tougher for any other cancer patient to get adequate pain relief.

Suck it up, continue tapering down until you’re off the things, and thank god that that evil “very large cancer center” not only relieved your cancer pain when you had it but was able to cure you to the point of remission.

You should be making the most of your second chance at life, instead you’re moaning and whining and living on welfare looking for even more “free money”, this time from those who cured you and relieved your pain. Goodness, in your situation I’d just be eager to taper off all meds as quickly as possible and GET ON WITH MY LIFE.

P.S. Opioid tolerance and dependence are normal and expected physiological responses to continuous opioid therapy. Fixing a patient’s physical dependence on a opioid once there is no more need of it for pain relief is a simple matter of tapering down. Thousands of people who were lucky enough to survive cancer or other trauma do it every year, no dramas.

Addiction is a dysfunctional psychological and behavioral syndrome. An addict would be taking opioids just to get high, not to relieve severe cancer pain. Most cancer patients who take opioids to relieve pain do not become addicts. They become physically dependent, yes, but they don’t turn into addicts.

But really, don’t screw things up for all the other cancer patients out there just because for whatever reason, you don’t like coming off drugs you no longer clinically need.

Comment on Narcotic “Allergies” by Julie

Julie — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:07:41 +0000

Linda,
Thank you for saying this!

Comment on Suing Doctors For Patient Addictions by DJ

DJ — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:46:43 +0000

This may get me attacked but Im gonna give it a shot. Please remember that Im here for opinions. here goes –
I am a cancer patient at a very large cancer center in FL – I have been treated in their palliative pain department for over 3 years due to pain caused from nerve damage in surgeries/lymphedema/ and a chronic pain condition of the lower extremities. I argued with my dr. about the constant increase in my pain meds – i did not want them to increase, but was told that was the only way to manage the pain I was in. After a few months, I relented. 3 years later, Im labeled a “stable” patient and released from the cancer center to find a community dr. I was told that since my cancer was now in remission and my pain under control, they needed to tend to more needy patients. OK. I could not find any “legal” doctor to see me for pain management. The ones i found were either asking for lots of $$$ up front (no thank you) or only helping patients with injections or spinal surgeries. I finally found a DR. who agreed to help me – ween off the pain meds only – because he did not want me to be forced to go cold turkey off the dosages i was on. Fine by me.
Now that I am in the middle of this crazy tapering down and experiencing terrible withdrawals, its not ok. I dont want more pills. I want the person who I FEEL pushed me to this point to be forced to answer for this situation.
My current DR. believes my pain is all neuropathic and does not – not did it ever- warrant the level of pain pills i was on.
So heres where everyone gets mad at me….. Yes, Im saying this is 90% my original DR.’s fault. Im on disability and not able to see ANY dr. i want – I tried to reason with her to NOT increase the dosage. Did i end up taking the patch and pills prescribed? YES. But i was also told by the prescribing DR. that addiction would NOT be an issue. Tolerance, yes.. but specifically NOT ADDICTION. Its in her clinic notes, and I have copies of all of them.
SO, do I have a right to sue? I dont know. But I want to. I also dont want to ruin a career – because I do know that this DR. is helping other cancer patients. I also cant help but wonder how many more are out there feeling like me.
Im hoping that some of you other DR.’s will give me your own thoughts and feelings about this in a non-argumentative way.
Thanks for the time.

Comment on Healthcare Update Satellite — 05-07-2013 by Mick Gorman

Mick Gorman — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:18:15 +0000

We have free and easy access to family doctors but still these people flood the er? I have epilepsy and have not once been to the er, despite many seizures. Some people think that because something is free, they have to use it! The service is actually “free at the point of use” we pay with our taxes, unfortunately, most of the users don’t pay tax!!

Comment on Alarm Fatigue by Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:34:47 +0000

From “Best Care Anywhere” – About VA hospital informatics…”Developed at taxpayer expense, the VistA program is available for free to anyone who cares to download it off the Internet. The link is to a demo, but the complete software is nonetheless available. You can try it out yourself by going to http://www1.va.gov/CPRSdemo/. Not surprisingly, it is currently being used by public health care systems in Finland, Germany, and Nigeria. There is even an Arabic language version up and running in Egypt. Yet VHA officials say they are unaware of any private health care system in the United States that uses the software. Instead, most systems are still drowning in paper, or else just starting to experiment with far more primitive information technologies.” – wonderful system. I do not remember how I ever got along without it.

Comment on Healthcare Update Satellite — 05-07-2013 by Andrew_M_Garland

Andrew_M_Garland — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:48:32 +0000

The ED is effectively free for many people. They are following the clear incentive.

The ED may not be free to people with assets and stable addresses, but that is their problem.

Our US socialist government is proud that millions of people get free care at ED’s. Why look on the downside of unmanageable costs? Our government doesn’t.

Comment on Could Medco Equal “Deadco”? by Mail order pharmacy, part 1 at Dr. Leigh Saint-Louis

Mail order pharmacy, part 1 at Dr. Leigh Saint-Louis — Sat, 11 May 2013 21:37:11 +0000

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