OK, something here that has been bugging me for a while (along with other, more recent events that rankle as well). I never noticed it as much as an RN, because I never worked at a clinic for any length of time, but I am beginning to be of the opinion that everyone that darkens our door in the healthcare setting is only out for what they can get, at no cost to them.
Back when I graduated NP school, I was working for a doc who had a sample closet the size of my laundry room. Not big enough to park a yacht in, mind you, but HUGE for what it was for. Floor-to-ceiling shelves just covered in sample meds. The drug reps came by frequently, brought lunch most days, and always tried to keep us stocked. It was unreal. This doc would bag up handfuls of meds for people, usually the entire stock of what had just been delivered, and hand it off. I was amazed at how nice this seemed, but whan I got into the workings of it, I was appalled.
I would say that roughly 90% of her patients would come in and ask for sample refills. AT LEAST that many, and probably more. People would come in for rechecks and ask for more samples. People would get fighting mad when we either did not have what they needed in samples or were out (I am so sorry that Septra is not in a sample, it's on the $4 list!). Add into that that we got into trouble for attempting to ration the samples, so that MORE patients could share the wealth. People would refuse to take anything unless they got samples, saying that they could not afford it, but yet would have an iPhone, iPod, ICarly, nails, hair done to a fare-thee-well, and all the other various accoutrements that you could buy a house with in possession.
Two cases stuck out in my mind:
* A man and his wife who were, shall we say, quite healthy, were frequent flyers here. They each had several major health concerns, mostly due to their respective weights. The male was taking a very new, very expensive medication that we were hard pressed to get samples of, and he knew that we would give him first dig. One day, doc handed me the 2 sample boxes to give to him, all we had, and when I walked in, I get a baleful look and "Just TWO boxes?" Now, what I SHOULD have done is snatch them right back and tell him that since he obviously does not appreciate it, then he does not get it, like you would a child. What I DID do was explain that that was all we had. Neither of these folks worked, they refused to take steps to better their health, and they expected everything to be handed to them.
*A very ill gentleman (and I use the term loosely) brought his mother in with him for his visit. He had an infection for which she prescribed Septra. The mother told me "Well, we'll need samples of that." I explained that it was a very old med, and that there were no samples available, and she replied that he would not be taking anything, then. I never heard how he did.
Again when I went to my family doc to precept, I was shocked. He actually had people call and complain because the samples were not BIG enough! I have seen the same man for 25 years, have never once asked for a sample, have been grateful for what I have been given, and went on my merry way. It never occurred to me to ask or complain. When I ran out of samples, if they worked, I asked for a script. I though that was how it went. Silly me.
This blows my mind. We go all out to prescribe whatever the cheapest, most effective med is for what ails them, and if it is not free, they don't want it.
I know it can't just be here. Is it this bad where everyone else works?
But most folks overseas pay taxes to the tune of about 60% so they can have government healthcare.
quite a few folks in the US pay that much pre-tax for very low or substandard insurance. What's the difference? The only thing I can say is that there is no easy answer.
I can guarentee it does happen in the UK and you pay 1/3 of your monthly salary in taxes and towards socialised medicine not 60%. Plus you do not pay healthcare insurance or benefits out of your salary
See, we get so many things blown out of proportion here. Even things about Canadian system are way whacked out, and I've learned the truth after talking with some of you here. Just because you saw/read/heard it on TV/radio/internet doesn't make it 100% true. I'd rather hear it from those who are living it!
I don't see what is wrong with making people who collect on welfare or have medicaid give back in some way to the community. Heaven knows there are enough things that need doing in any community in the US, and why not tie eligibility for said services to jobs such as cleaning parks, fixing public buildings, learning a trade...etc? Why do we keep handing out money and then wonder why many of the folks who get it think the system owes them everything? Make them accountable for receiving the aid and give them incentive and help to get off the aid at some point. There is something wrong with the system when it is more beneficial to a single mother to not work and not try to go to school, because if she does she loses her aid eligibility......
Lots of good replies on here... and many things to chew on while mulling it over. There are a few thoughts that come to mind on this topic, one major one is that we as healthcare providers are (usually) educated about what services are reasonable, necesarry, etc. However, what we must remember is that everyone is raised differently. As another poster mentioned, if a parent/grandparent/significant authority figure in that person's life had a 'gimme' attitude, it will pass on. What I have to remind myself is that people are what they are. You can not make a person transform into something that they have never been or experienced. I agree that all people who need care should recieve it, but I also believe that there must be some type of payment made, cash or otherwise. I believe in pay it forward, but that's just me. This country is run on majority votes (some of which are paid for by big companies), which is the system we chose to live by when our country was founded. I've heard plenty of healthcare providers (nurses too) who complain about the amount of money they make, what they have to pay for this that or the other, etc. Now if I'm looking at a nurse who comes in late and expects me to show up on time while she's texting during her shift and her teenagers stop by the INTENSIVE CARE UNIT to pick up cash for a new iPhone, jeans, etc, why should I feel sorry for her? Because she doesn't know how to be any other way. People are what they are, and all we can do is educate them. I guess the majority vote in her house is to just give in and give people what they want.
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
I've seen it NOT happen in our system as well. People who think that everyone gets equal treatment needs to open their eyes and start looking a little harder. The better the insurance, the better the treatments. We as nurses may not know who has what insurance, but the MDs and their staff sure do. I've actually heard more than 1 doc say "she has medicaid, so we're not going to......" but the same situation with good insurance gets the whole gamut of tests, labs, and treatments. And sometimes both and sometimes neither need any of the previously said. Many docs, especially old timers, know down to the cent what they can get off of each patient. I've heard them brag to each other in the dictation room. It seriously ****** me off! And don't even get me started on medically futile care as an expectation, just because we have the technology, we should keep 102 yr old with stage 4 lung CA alive as long as possible. Patient just had basic medicare, and some of the treatments they wanted were not covered, according to our social services group, and there were no funds to cover. The family of course, did not want to pay and said "hospital is wealthy, let them eat the cost!" Unfortunately, we've "eaten the cost" so many times, we're going broke!
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I am amazed by this...............I have NEVER received a sample med from my Doctor...........and have never worked in a setting that dispenses meds.....
@ my psych hospital where I work, we are not allowed to give any sample meds......they only get scripts.....a few ask for samples, but that is not the norm..............
UNREAL !!!!!!!!!!!!! the more I see & hear, the more I cannot understand.....
I used to work for a physician who gave all of our Zocor samples to his brother-in-law, who is from one of the wealthiest families in our city. They own several businesses, but claimed he couldn't afford to fill his prescriptions! We had other patients who actually did need help with the cost of their prescriptions, but we never had any to give them!
MedSurgeMess
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