LTC patients who make themselves sick on purpose?

[Blackcat99]

I heard that at my LTC facility that a few of the alert and oriented patients try to make themselves sick on purpose at the end of the month. I was told that if a LTC patient can get themselves admitted to the hospital at the end of the month that they get to have a big check for themselves instead of the LTC facility receiving their check. I was shocked to hear about it. Has anyone else heard about this kind of thing happening?

[merlee]

Their check goes to the facility. Period. Urban myth.

[Blackcat99]

Really!!!! I had 3 nurses here at the LTC tell me that this is the way they do it. In fact, one of these nurses said she called the doctor yesterday and had the doctor DC his order to send the patient to the ER!!!!! She insisted it was a scam that the patient tries to do every month at the end of the month.

[Blackcat99]

I just thought of something. I know the LTC doesn't want us to send patients to the ER. Maybe the scam is on "us nurses". Maybe management doesn't want us to send patients to the ER so they tell us things like this?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

When I worked in LTC, a few AOx4 residents enjoyed the ambulance trips to the local ER. After all, the nursing home is not the most exciting place to be.

It would be common for one particular resident with no cardiac history to complain of chest wall pain on a Friday evening. Another resident was worried about a bump on his arm and demanded transport to the local ER (doctor refused).

[cienurse]

While I've seen my share of residents who play "possum," I have never heard of them getting a big check over it. Their check comes to the nursing home, period, end of discussion, whether or not they get admitted to the hospital. And management has nothing to do with it-they can think up plenty of other things to "scam" the nurses! It sounds like your facility needs to ramp up the activities program, particularly at the end of the month and on evenings if your hospitalizations are trending that way. Also, the push is on by CMS and the hospitals to not be readmitting residents to the hospital from the SNF's related to diagnoses. You'll continue to see more and more of that, especially with Obamacare and the economy being what it is. We should also have standing orders in place for things like NTG, Maalox, Tylenol, Robitussin, and other OTC's that can "cure" common ailments before they get blown out of proportion by a bored resident looking for some attention!