Did you have open heart surgery and now are on dialysis?
Do you smoke and use birth control and now have a blood clot?
Did you take X drug and now are experiencing
Well, we may have some $$$ for you!! Call our law offices now now now and we will use your pain and suffering and take $$ from the hospital and give it to you. Of course, after we take our 90% cut, you may not have much left. And theres our legal fees of course.....
Everytime I see these commercials my teeth grit a little. OK alot. I cant stand the fact that our sue happy culture has driven up the price of health care and indirectly driven down my paycheck by these frivilous lawsuits. Vultures!!:argue:
......And, I very kindly disagree with your comment. Shouldn't it be 50/50? Healthcare providers are and should be obligated to disclose such info, but it is also the patient's responsibility to confirm and seek higher knowlege on what they are putting in their bodies.
I always encourage my patients to do so and offer them references. Times have changed and with the increased shortage at the bedside, it's good to start getting them prepared and out of the usual custom of holding no self responsibility.
I can't be held responsible for the noncompliant pt, the druggy, the overworked, the poor......etc (Heck, I'm overworked and poor myself).
It doesn't take much time to do so and everyone should have their own interest vested. We need to ecourage them!
(Plus, to me, it's like going to church and not having a bible as a reference.) {sorry for the poor analogy-I'm sleep deprived :zzzzz}
Just my 2 cents.
I don't think we disagree quite as much as it may seem. I DEFINITELY believe in being your own advocate and understanding every test/proceedure/medication that is done to you. I think that it is unsafe to just blindly do what we are told, because "the doctor said so" or "the nurse seemed to think it was ok". Unfortunately, a lot of medical staff (particularly doctors) do not like to be questioned or second guessed, especially by some dumb patient. Plus the medical environment of 50 years ago was to not question your doctor, and it takes a long time to get past those ways of thinking. I just think that, while its the patient's "job" to be as well versed in their care options as possible, it is also our "job" as medical personnel to do everything we can to educate our patients about the side effects/possible side effects of their treatments and medications.
I have seen more than one situation where patients were only told what was needed to get them to sign the paper or take the medication, instead of full disclosure. That, is where I see a fault, and where I could understand it becoming a legal issue.
Specializes in CVICU, Burns, Trauma, BMT, Infection control.
Just my two cents, but I think that as a culture we have to get over the notion that nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to us, and if it does then by-gosh somebody is going to have to pay. Whether it is taking drugs, having a procedure, or even surgery, these are not things that are intrinsically safe people!
Life happening shouldn't equal lawsuit. Aggrrrrrrrr.
I so agree! Children should never be born with birth defects,no one should be in pain(that is a failure on SOMEONE's part).No side effects ever from any med or DING DING DING jackpot,you hit the lottery,you're RICH!!
Bottom dweller scum bag lawyers and the jackpot mentality suck!:angryfire
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I really don't like these commercials either as I think they encourage people to see wrong doing where there is none and take the focus off of those situations where they REALLY should be upset.
But this comment, I disagree with. I don't think its fair to expect patients to go look up their meds on the web or on a (possibly outdated) drug guide. I also think that our physicians/nurses should definitely be in full disclosure mode, and while I would appreciate the reccomendation of a good drug book, I would hope that it would be in regards to OTHER drugs, and not the one that they were giving me at that moment. I would really like to have a full disclosure of possible side effects when I get a medication. Call me crazy if you will, but it would make me feel better to know that I may experience appetite loss and blurred vision and what my provider wants me to do if they happen, than go home and get blurred vision and do a search for lisinopril + vision on the net to see if thats why I'm having trouble seeing all of a sudden... or worse yet, delay starting meds because we feel as though we need to look them up first to make sure we are aware of all the side effects.
I did not mean that I do not discuss side effects and emergent care with patients. Nurses and physicians are obligated to inform the patient of the benefits, possible side and adverse effects of any treatment. The reason why I do suggest it is because it can reiterate what we have already told them, and can open up a discussion with us on the next visit. Maybe I should have remembered to place that in the post you read. Also, there is a human factor involved with this, in that with the rushing the high volume of patients we see, it is easy for anyone to unintentionally omit a piece of information. Therefore, I believe empowering a patient by letting them know that there are resources that the layperson can read to understand for themselves.
......And, I very kindly disagree with your comment. Shouldn't it be 50/50? Healthcare providers are and should be obligated to disclose such info, but it is also the patient's responsibility to confirm and seek higher knowlege on what they are putting in their bodies.
The situation that drives these type of drug related lawsuits is lack of full disclosure from the manufacturer on the risks of drugs. So while I agree totally that patients have a responsibility to know what they are putting in their bodies, if that information isn't available, or made public....that's a problem.
Until we have complete disclosure of all risks and potential adverse reactions these lawsuits will continue. Lawsuits only have "teeth" when there's a situation that backs up the claim being made.
Specializes in CVICU, Burns, Trauma, BMT, Infection control.
Sorry about rant re lawyers,that chaps me quite a bit.
Regarding pt info I assume they don't know much about their meds because most are on a polypharmacy and well,I have a hard time keeping up with contraindications/side effects,etc of my parents meds and I'm much better prepared than most people are.So I always give my pts the pt handout of all meds they're on from the micromedex. It just takes a little while longer to do and they seem to appreciate it. It's really up to them to read them once they get home,I always ask if they have any questions too. I chart that they received med profiles on all their meds should a question arise later. I know it's hard sometimes to do this for every pt but I try.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
you must be dealing with upper income patients who have the money to buy, the time to research, and the mindset to inquire.
a lot of patients are not in this group. a lot just trust the doctor, the nurse, the pharmacist, the drug maker/distributor. a lot are too sick, in body and/or in mind, to ever question anything we do or do not tell them. how do you expect the welfare mom, the addict, the career criminal, the illiterate, the poverty-stricken patient who works 2 or even 3 jobs and never sleeps - except on his night shift job, to find the means to study his meds?
no, i don't. again, i think that i did not include enough information in my post; so let me state that i work for a city hospital that does service the poor. we do the very best that we can to educate and empower the patients, however, due to the high volume of patients we counsel, even with the best intentions, not each piece of information is given, due to interruptions, distractions, and simply the lack of time. therefore, i see nothing wrong in empowering them to gather additional information about their health conditions and medications. we have to teach them to inquire and not to just trust anyone blindly. we can't force them, but we can educate and give examples-such as you count your money, you double check when you go to the bank or check cashing place. take your health as seriously as your money. that usually captures their interest. and, those that are interested learn how to research things for themselves, or get their families to do it with them. this way, it can be a learning experience for everyone.
i don't think we disagree quite as much as it may seem. i definitely believe in being your own advocate and understanding every test/proceedure/medication that is done to you. i think that it is unsafe to just blindly do what we are told, because "the doctor said so" or "the nurse seemed to think it was ok". unfortunately, a lot of medical staff (particularly doctors) do not like to be questioned or second guessed, especially by some dumb patient. plus the medical environment of 50 years ago was to not question your doctor, and it takes a long time to get past those ways of thinking. i just think that, while its the patient's "job" to be as well versed in their care options as possible, it is also our "job" as medical personnel to do everything we can to educate our patients about the side effects/possible side effects of their treatments and medications.
i have seen more than one situation where patients were only told what was needed to get them to sign the paper or take the medication, instead of full disclosure. that, is where i see a fault, and where i could understand it becoming a legal issue.
i totally agree that we have the obligation to teach all needs to be known regarding the condition and treatment of illness, but not many can deny with the additional demands from management that is not empathetic to the needs of nurses to render proper care, more senseless paperwork, having to work more hours to do this redundant tasks, that it takes away from quality patient care. things are missed, even when we don't want it to be. therefore, i believe that while we are teaching, we should give resources for them to use at a later date. this doesn't mean that "well, i gave them the name of that great book on diabetes and my job is over"...no!! we still teach, however, we give them the chance to participate in their care by giving suggestions on future reading, groups, websites or whatever we can to empower them.
I agree that genuine mistakes happen and there are genuine lawsuits where medical staff/hospitals/ ect need to be held accountable. BUT chances are, if you have a genuine lawsuit, you didn't come across it from watching a commercial that informed you that there was a problem. If anything all these frivolous lawsuits detract attention from genuine ones. Just my opinion, and I have been wrong before. I feel like these lawyers are such bottom feeders. And this is not a rant about lawyers in general, my aunt is a lawyer who works with victims of domestic violence and I have respect for the profession, just not this breed.
That being said, I just saw ANOTHER one that infuriated me:
"UP to one third of Patients in Hospitals die......call Morgan and Morgan"
Thats literally what it said!!! NOt why they die, hmmmm maybe because the hospital is where sick older people, hurt people, accident victims, ect come????Maybe because 100% of people who are born WILL DIE and alot of them go to a hospital to do it??? Maybe death is sometimes a natural part of the life process and not always a failure of medical staff???
And while I think nurses and doctors certainly have a responsibility to educate patients on meds and procedures, I also think the patients should take some accountability for themselves and do some research on their meds as well. If they have questions they should call their providers. I recently had Lasik surgery and was fully aware of all the risks and such going in because I thoroughly researched it. I actually had a complication, but I knew it wasnt the surgeons fault and had no intention of suing.
The American public wants zero culpability for their actions. Any actions. Anytime. They want "someone" to fix their years of inactivity, poor diet, poor exercise, poor lifestyle choices. They want "someone" to take care of whatever problems they've either caused themselves, OR "someone" to fix whatever life just happened to dump on them. And it's always "someone's" fault when it can't be fixed, or not fixed as well as they'd like. Meaning perfectly. And if they themselves don't make the best choice when it comes to healthcare options they are presented? That's ok, "someone else" will take the blame. After all, THEY can't be responsible for ANY of it.
"Someone will pay", don't worry...just ask the TV Lawyers.
A co-worker and I were just talking about this very issue today. It seems that more and more of our Clients are non-compliant and are demanding instant relief for whatever and anything that "ails" them. If we deny them, then they threaten to sic their lawyers on us.
I'd like to tell them where they can STICK their lawyers.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I can think of examples that happened just today that impede on how nurses try to render care under horrible circumstances. I argued for the past few weeks that we have had too many nurses assigned to our clinic from agencies. Management sees that we have a full compliment of staff, but some of the agency nurses are either their friends, or they are trying to kiss butt to get hired, so, they give them choices on where to go rather than place them where needed. Because of this lack of insight, not enough of these nurses have appropriate places to do patient teaching (usually, I am the one displaced, because I am one of the late nurses and the rooms are all taken up by the agency nurses by the time I get there). We do not have any empty exam rooms to teach in, so, we are using conference rooms, switching rooms, using the crash cart rooms, begging some of the attendings if we can use their offices, and I have not even begun to mention that we need interpeter services for many (but the budget is cutting that service down as well) etc... These places we are forced to use are not fully equipped with hand sanitizers, printers (for patient information), sharps containers, syringes, etc... And, God forbid if you leave the room for a second to get the next patient-someone else stole the space because, they, too, are displaced. Therefore, we have to abbreviate our activities. Our charge nurse doesn't want to rock the boat by calling the administrators to move these people elsewhere, because when I brought the issue up, I was told that I am being too territorial, "...at least the room is being used by another nurse-(duh-she is per diem and should either go where needed or should not have been called in at all)". I told them that I am trying to be productive, teach properly and give each individual the time they need, and their attitude was like "So what??? And...".
So, are there opportunities to leave out valuable information? Of course, there is. I have resorted to creating a booklet to carry around to show patients things, but, does this patient really want to hear this after such a harrowing day of being stuck in our inner city clinic for 5 hours? Aren't they entitled to receive the same information that the more elite population? And, also, I am sure that they see for themselves the chaos they entered. Therefore, I educate them by saying "Look, to help yourself, have a list of your questions, carry your pertinent information on a piece of paper like your birthdate, address, emergency contact numbers and such. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the names of your meds, bring the bottles, or ask a nurse to write down the names of your medications for you and keep it in a special spot to bring with you to all of the doctors, the ER and anywhere medically related to help you. Because the doctors are alotted 15 minutes for each return visit, 30 minutes for new visits. Make sure that your visit counts. Here are some books/websites you can read further about your condition, medications and treatment to reiterate what we are trying to tell you" and after all of that, document what I told them. They may not be so lucky next time, because there are nurses and physicians that won't even tell them that much.
I'm sorry...part of empowerment is letting them see the reality. We can give but so much, and if we at least try to say that here is more to read when you are ready, and allow them the opportunity to return with some questions for clarification.
Specializes in Home Health currently, med/surg prev.
Who else remembers the commercial from a few years ago targeting diabetic schizophrenics? The commerical specifically mentioned those two conditions and two specific meds used to commonly treat each one. A friend of mine who lived in a different part of the country than me had seen it also. I know it was running in 2005. That was just took the cake for off-the-wall class-action nonsense.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Who else remembers the commercial from a few years ago targeting diabetic schizophrenics? The commerical specifically mentioned those two conditions and two specific meds used to commonly treat each one. A friend of mine who lived in a different part of the country than me had seen it also. I know it was running in 2005. That was just took the cake for off-the-wall class-action nonsense.
I don't remember those commercials...that was when I was knee deep in nursing school and didn't know televisions still existed. Goodness, I would have loved to see that one...
missjennmb
932 Posts
I don't think we disagree quite as much as it may seem. I DEFINITELY believe in being your own advocate and understanding every test/proceedure/medication that is done to you. I think that it is unsafe to just blindly do what we are told, because "the doctor said so" or "the nurse seemed to think it was ok". Unfortunately, a lot of medical staff (particularly doctors) do not like to be questioned or second guessed, especially by some dumb patient. Plus the medical environment of 50 years ago was to not question your doctor, and it takes a long time to get past those ways of thinking. I just think that, while its the patient's "job" to be as well versed in their care options as possible, it is also our "job" as medical personnel to do everything we can to educate our patients about the side effects/possible side effects of their treatments and medications.
I have seen more than one situation where patients were only told what was needed to get them to sign the paper or take the medication, instead of full disclosure. That, is where I see a fault, and where I could understand it becoming a legal issue.