Val Jones with a case where the ER doc is damned if he does, or doesn’t. A patient, whose father is a significant donor to the hospital, insists on being admitted. Fallout ensues:
The son of a business tycoon experienced some diarrhea. He went to his local emergency room immediately, explaining to the staff who his father was, and that he required immediate treatment.Because of his father’s influence, the man was indeed seen immediately. The physicians soon realized, however, that there was nothing emergent about this man’s complaints . . .
The man complained bitterly and said that he wanted to be admitted to the hospital. The physicians, with respect, explained that he didn’t show any signs of dehydration, that he had no fever, his diarrhea was indeed fairly mild (he had only gone to the restroom once during the hours of his ED visit ““ and that was when he was asked to produce a stool sample). The man’s pulse was in the 70′s and he had no acute abdominal tenderness.
The man left in a huff, and called his father to reign down sulfur on the ED that wouldn’t admit him.
