My boyfriend was a patient in the hospital where he works recently and we both had a terrible experience. Besides giving him coffee with curdled milk in it and refusing to make more because "that's just the way cream settles" and "we're out of coffee" and "we only have one CA". And no, they would not let me make a pot either. We were mistreated in a dozen ways, including holding back meds assuming he was a drug seeker, employees telling us we were "a big issue on the floor," refusing to page the doctor and requesting that I do it from my cell phone, not returning when they said they would, asking him if he was "refusing treatment" when he said he didn't want IV Depakote for what they thought was a migraine because he had taken it PO before and it didn't agree with him, etc... ARGH! He ended up trying the IV Depacon at their request and he broke out in a whole body rash and they kept him another day. He returned to the ER 2 days later with complications from the rash and the doctor said "I'm not giving you prednisone." I told her, "the doctor who was just here just gave him a dose." She said, "OK I'll give you prednisone but only if you promise to follow up." I don't understand the "care" at all!! IT was awful! When we asked for the charge nurse, she was awful to us too, saying people had more important things to do because there was a code.
After he was discharged and went back to work, his manager said she received an email from that unit saying he had questionable behavior during his hospital stay. It was totally exaggerated. For example, I had brought his badge to the hospital so I could park in the garage, and he put it on as a joke while laying in bed. It stayed on maybe 10 minutes. They complained about this saying he was misrepresenting himself. They said he tried to get into the medicine room, which isn't true (he was admitted with altered mental status so how could they judge his behavior anyway!)
Is this ILLEGAL that they told his manager he was in the hospital? And talked about his behavior? I would think that is a breach of HIPPA and that they are also damaging his reputation without cause!
A HA with AMS is a serious thing differential diagnoses include meningitis, CVA, seizure post ictal, with some migraines you have a TIA symptoms, also cluster headaches can be even worse than migraines.
She had the right to advocate for him. So what if he was goofing around and wearing his ID or she used his ID to park are we really getting that petty!
None of this gave anyone the right to talk about him or relay a message to his manager that they thought he was drug seeking.
You don't lose your rights to privacy because you are an employee of the hospital! Frankly we should have the choice of going elsewhere to be admitted without it costing a fortune to the point where you really don't have a choice just because the bean counters are safe in the ivory towers.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
He was not at work. Someone he works with could have seen his name in the EMR lists when they were doing something else. Was the mental status change cause for concern about returning to work- NOT the superficial behaviors?
It wouldn't matter. If they did see his name they should have acted as if they didn't since he wasn't a part of their care. Since he was admitted on one unit and worked on another unit, I can't think of any reason that they would even accidentally see his name. The HIPAA is put in place for a reason. Although sometimes I think it gets a bit absurd, a case like this is exactly why it's in place. Even if their was concern about his mental status and returning to work, they crossed the line. They are supposed to treat him as if they have no idea who he is or that he works there. They can't make assumptions on his ability to return to work and speak to his boss about it. It would need to be discussed between the patient and the doctor and they could decide where to go from there.
I would be raising heck if I went to the hospital for something and I was not on my unit and I find out that my hospital stay is the talk of my unit. We don't have all the facts of this story and I admit that some of it seems a little off. But the bottom line is that the HIPAA laws were broken. If he went to another hospital none of this would have been an option and I probably would be seen at another hospital. But seem people don't have that option. If he gave permission for his girlfriend to have knowledge about his medical care than he being involved and knowing stuff isn't an issue either.
Not saying it was right- just that the floor staff where he was being taken care of may have had nothing to do with his manager finding out :)
Mr. Chicago-- they desperately need your patient relations at one of the facilities here....BADLY.
Another one went out of their way to deal with a situation I didn't complain about (a doc twisting my skin so hard I had a huge hematoma- the dope didn't know I was on a boatload of Coumadin- and also didn't know I was extremely sensitive to a med his on-call buddy had prescribed and not told me about- so I was out of it). That's the one I DIDN'T complain about- the other one isn't fit for deceased animals.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
True, but being that the email said how his behaviour on the floor was to the nurses, I don't see how anyone else would have known about his behaviour had the nurses not been opening their mouth to someone.
True, but being that the email said how his behaviour on the floor was to the nurses, I don't see how anyone else would have known about his behaviour had the nurses not been opening their mouth to someone.
If that's the case obviously it's really bad news...no argument there..... just looking at other things :) The whole thing sounds odd...but hospitals can be odd places - LOL :)
Well whoever sent the email is going to be in trouble and probably lose their job! Why are people so studid and judgemental in the first place! Even if he was on drugs, which is NOT the case, it still wouldn't be there right to say anything. It would still be a HIPPA violation and rightly so! We have a right to expect privacy when we're a patient!
My boyfriend was a patient in the hospital where he works recently and we both had a terrible experience. Besides giving him coffee with curdled milk in it and refusing to make more because "that's just the way cream settles" and "we're out of coffee" and "we only have one CA". And no, they would not let me make a pot either. We were mistreated in a dozen ways, including holding back meds assuming he was a drug seeker, employees telling us we were "a big issue on the floor," refusing to page the doctor and requesting that I do it from my cell phone, not returning when they said they would, asking him if he was "refusing treatment" when he said he didn't want IV Depakote for what they thought was a migraine because he had taken it PO before and it didn't agree with him, etc... ARGH! He ended up trying the IV Depacon at their request and he broke out in a whole body rash and they kept him another day. He returned to the ER 2 days later with complications from the rash and the doctor said "I'm not giving you prednisone." I told her, "the doctor who was just here just gave him a dose." She said, "OK I'll give you prednisone but only if you promise to follow up." I don't understand the "care" at all!! IT was awful! When we asked for the charge nurse, she was awful to us too, saying people had more important things to do because there was a code.
After he was discharged and went back to work, his manager said she received an email from that unit saying he had questionable behavior during his hospital stay. It was totally exaggerated. For example, I had brought his badge to the hospital so I could park in the garage, and he put it on as a joke while laying in bed. It stayed on maybe 10 minutes. They complained about this saying he was misrepresenting himself. They said he tried to get into the medicine room, which isn't true (he was admitted with altered mental status so how could they judge his behavior anyway!)
Is this ILLEGAL that they told his manager he was in the hospital? And talked about his behavior? I would think that is a breach of HIPPA and that they are also damaging his reputation without cause!
Please help! Thank you!
Bugsy, you n me go way back, so tell me what really happened that night? Remember, you're surrounded by people who love you.
Sounds like a horror show! This is just my opinion, but if your boyfriend had altered mental status from presumably a migrane, I would most certainly have some outpatient follow up testing to rule anything else out. If his mental status is altered when he is ill, then be sure that he has a POA or directive that you and/or family can intervene on his behalf. I am appalled that anyone would email his manager about any behaviors WHEN HE WAS ADMITTED FOR ALTERED MENTAL STATUS!! (or email his manager about the stay at all)!! AND I would most certainly bring up the fact that pain meds were with held. That is why hospitals have policies on pain control.
I would have your boyfriend file a complaint with the hospital on strictly his course of care, and that the manager was contacted regarding his stay. The manager should know better, and could have dealt with the email immedietely, pointing out it innappropriate, and brought it to HR, NOT then run and tell boyfriend that she recieved it!! This is wrong in so many ways. Who cares if there's "more to this story". Altered mental status is welll....mind altering and needs treatment. Not gossip about someone's behavior. Unreal. And when a patient is in so much pain that they are resorting to coffee, just wrong. Oh, and be sure to keep a list of his allergies, so that the whole depakote fiasco doesn't happen again.....
Have reread this.... I apologize for my jumping to inaccurate conclusions.
I should have believed this more quickly- and have had numerous horrendous experiences (not inpatient though- mostly at one ED). I don't know why it's ever ok to treat someone badly- or differently because they do or do not work at the same place. OR if it involves pain- the first assumption is drug seeker.... I saw a guy die in a month from metastatic melanoma- his c/o in the ED? Severe headaches - took three trips in 3 days to get a CT done. He never left the hospital after that third trip when they scanned him
The ID badge- not cool about the parking, but just wearing it in the room for a few minutes- if that is considered "reportable" as some sort of bizarre behavior, they some folks are pretty hard up for stuff to do. Maybe could make some coffee instead of e-mail people at work :).
The suggestion about you getting some sort of POAH for any times when your bf is impaired is really good . He can always revoke or change it- and if he's ok, it's not in effect anyway... then as a legal POAH, they have to respond to you as the acting agent. Also, if his PCP would include a diagnosis that is accessible by the ED if he needs to be seen in the future (if they have a dedicated EMR this should be a snap to do), the pain issues might be easier to have treated.
As far as nasty nurses- some are just plagued with wasps in their undies.... as in any profession, there are those who drag the others down... Fortunately, the good ones far outnumber the jerks...just sorry you had a large collection in one place
It can't hurt to report this to patient relations (but think about the possible repercussions-- which would be very wrong- but this doesn't sound like a group that plays well with others).
There's always Press-Ganey And I would go off on that- sure, it may be identifiable- but the responses still go into the overall numbers.... sometimes that's the only recourse. All of this is JMHO.
The caffeine was for his migraine. It wasn't a food request just cause he felt like a hot cup of coffee or something. Also, he was not wearing his badge out of his room. He clipped it to his gown for 10 minutes while kidding around. Boy I feel like everyone is so skeptical!
So he probably shouldn't have had any caffeine anyway.. since he was a neuro pt with AMS.. And since it was the middle of the night he should have been asleep
I really think there is more to this story than we're being let in on.
FWIW, I try to never tell anyone that I am an employee or a nurse. I feel like I am automatically labeled a drug-seeker, whether its a broken wrist or a ruptured eardrum.
Ideally speaking, this should not in ANY way impact on the superb service that one should recieve. Realistically speaking, it COMPLETELY impacts on the care- they like you, good care, they don't like you, bad care.
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This is just my opinion, but if your boyfriend had altered mental status from presumably a migrane, I would most certainly have some outpatient follow up testing to rule anything else out. If his mental status is altered when he is ill, then be sure that he has a POA or directive that you and/or family can intervene on his behalf. I am appalled that anyone would email his manager about any behaviors WHEN HE WAS ADMITTED FOR ALTERED MENTAL STATUS!! (or email his manager about the stay at all)!! AND I would most certainly bring up the fact that pain meds were with held. That is why hospitals have policies on pain control.
And I would go off on that- sure, it may be identifiable- but the responses still go into the overall numbers.... sometimes that's the only recourse. All of this is JMHO.
brandy1017, ASN, RN
2,910 Posts
A HA with AMS is a serious thing differential diagnoses include meningitis, CVA, seizure post ictal, with some migraines you have a TIA symptoms, also cluster headaches can be even worse than migraines.
She had the right to advocate for him. So what if he was goofing around and wearing his ID or she used his ID to park are we really getting that petty!
None of this gave anyone the right to talk about him or relay a message to his manager that they thought he was drug seeking.
You don't lose your rights to privacy because you are an employee of the hospital! Frankly we should have the choice of going elsewhere to be admitted without it costing a fortune to the point where you really don't have a choice just because the bean counters are safe in the ivory towers.