Defensive medicine in action

Here is another reason.

88 y/o grandma comes to the ICU from the ER. She has pneumonia and an UTI. Both her troponin and creatinine are 2.5. She has had a fall and has a large subdural. She is going to die no matter what. With compassionate comfort care and preserving dignity she would peacefully expire within a day.

But wait!!! The family, including cousin Vinny, who hasn’t seen her in 10 years wants “everything done to try and save her”. So she get poked, prodded, needled, pressors, intubated, lines shoved everywhere. At a minimum she gets consultations from neurology, neurosurgery, cardiology, pulmonary, nephrology.

200k and 2 weeks later she dies of course.