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Doctors Strive to Do Less Harm by Inattentive Care

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/h...to-do-less-harm-by-inattentive-care.html?_r=0

By GINA KOLATA FEB. 17, 2015

Suffering. The very word made doctors uncomfortable. Medical journals avoided it, instructing authors to say that patients “ ‘have’ a disease or complications or side effects rather than ‘suffer’ or ‘suffer from’ them,” said Dr. Thomas H. Lee, the chief medical officer of Press Ganey, a company that surveys hospital patients.

But now, reducing patient suffering — the kind caused not by disease but by medical care itself — has become a medical goal. The effort is driven partly by competition and partly by a realization that suffering, whether from long waits, inadequate explanations or feeling lost in the shuffle, is a real and pressing issue. It is as important, says Dr. Kenneth Sands, the chief quality officer at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, as injuries, like medication errors or falls, or infections acquired in a hospital.

The problem is how to measure it and what to do about it.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
That article was a good read. Not too long and not much medical lingo.

When I worked the graveyard shift at a hospital in 1978, I was responsible for blood draws that were scheduled at 6 a.m. I verified that these orders had been written into the charts by doctors and not "amended" by nurses striving to get earlier results. When I told my boss that the number of 6 a.m. blood draws were growing and I couldn't possibly be at the bedsides of 20 patients simultaneously at 6 a.m., he said to start at 5 a.m. and I'd be done by 7 a.m. After all, what patient doesn't enjoy being woken up in the wee hours of the morning for a little poke of a needle?

Back then I know doctors were considered to be God, so no one argued. I have no idea if doctors are still inflicting 6 a.m. blood draws on their patients so that they can have results by 8 a.m. At least now there are specialists known as hospitalists whose sole job it is to be at the hospital tending to patients, and they don't have to worry about getting lab results before their clinic hours start.

I remember when my father was dying in a nursing home with one roommate who liked having the TV on all the time, even though the roommate was demented. Daytime TV has to be the worst of all, and I had visions of my father meeting his maker with the sounds of Jerry Springer in the background. Could there be no peace even for the dying? My father ended up dying around 8 a.m. so maybe he died to the weather and traffic report or some silly morning news show.

I tell my doctor when something he asks me to do is a hardship for me. He sometimes forgets that's what's most convenient for him is the least convenient for me, such as me picking up a prescription in person, as opposed to having it mailed to me (my preferred way).
 
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MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
That article was a good read. Not too long and not much medical lingo.

When I worked the graveyard shift at a hospital in 1978, I was responsible for blood draws that were scheduled at 6 a.m. I verified that these orders had been written into the charts by doctors and not "amended" by nurses striving to get earlier results. When I told my boss that the number of 6 a.m. blood draws were growing and I couldn't possibly be at the bedsides of 20 patients simultaneously at 6 a.m., he said to start at 5 a.m. and I'd be done by 7 a.m. After all, what patient doesn't enjoy being woken up in the wee hours of the morning for a little poke of a needle?

Back then I know doctors were considered to be God, so no one argued. I have no idea if doctors are still inflicting 6 a.m. blood draws on their patients so that they can have results by 8 a.m. At least now there are specialists known as hospitalists whose sole job it is to be at the hospital tending to patients, and they don't have to worry about getting lab results before their clinic hours start.

I remember when my father was dying in a nursing home with one roommate who liked having the TV on all the time, even though the roommate was demented. Daytime TV has to be the worst of all, and I had visions of my father meeting his maker with the sounds of Jerry Springer in the background. Could there be no peace even for the dying? My father ended up dying around 8 a.m. so maybe he died to the weather and traffic report or some silly morning news show.

I tell my doctor when something he asks me to do is a hardship for me. He sometimes forgets that's what's most convenient for him is the least convenient for me, such as me picking up a prescription in person, as opposed to having it mailed to me (my preferred way).

My current GP is the first one I can remember having who actually thinks of my needs. Some patients don't like him, as they find him rude, and he does come across as a bit gruff and grumpy, but he has surprised me a few times with his perception and willingness to go the extra mile. For example, when taking my blood pressure he once said to me that the reason it was so high was probably partly because I didn't want to be there. On my last visit to him he guessed that I had been doing some research, and said so with a smile (not mocking or resentful). When I have explained that it was difficult for me to get there early for blood tests, he has twice arranged for a community nurse to come and do them at my home. I think he breaks the rules quite often, and I like a maverick who is willing to do that for the benefit of patients.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
My current GP is the first one I can remember having who actually thinks of my needs. Some patients don't like him, as they find him rude, and he does come across as a bit gruff and grumpy, but he has surprised me a few times with his perception and willingness to go the extra mile. For example, when taking my blood pressure he once said to me that the reason it was so high was probably partly because I didn't want to be there. On my last visit to him he guessed that I had been doing some research, and said so with a smile (not mocking or resentful). When I have explained that it was difficult for me to get there early for blood tests, he has twice arranged for a community nurse to come and do them at my home. I think he breaks the rules quite often, and I like a maverick who is willing to do that for the benefit of patients.

You are so lucky - your doctor sounds like an interesting man. I wish my doctor would take the hint or at least not act like he's doing me a big favor sometimes.
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
You are so lucky - your doctor sounds like an interesting man. I wish my doctor would take the hint or at least not act like he's doing me a big favor sometimes.

Believe me, I had to go through a lot of absolute nightmare-doctors before finding this one. I'm not sure if he believes in ME though, so I try to avoid mentioning it.