Comments on: The Patients’ Bill of Responsibilities

By: Dr. Dredd

Dr. Dredd — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:02:30 +0000

With all due respect to medstudent, I think he/she should wait until he’s had some real world experience before judging the rest of us.

By: CB

CB — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:37:20 +0000

I realize this is just venting “among the boys/girls,” but the gross naivete and snide, combative attitude behind #8 is why physicians being sued have be all but bound and gagged by their defense attorneys. If a hint of that comes out on the stand, the facts won’t matter: the entire jury will delight in lynching the doctor. Plaintiff’s attorneys would be fools not to learn how to needle a doctor, if it will elicit that kind of response.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:31:22 +0000

“No one has mentioned that physicians, like politicians, generally have outstanding health insurance policies.”

This is just not true. Many have to negotiate with insurance companies the same as other small businesses to obtain coverage for the doctors and employees. Many are independent contractors who have to obtain insurance on their own at the same prices as other private consumers. Many choose to pay less and have only catastrophic plans.

Doctors get sick and have pre-existing conditions just like the regular population.

Many people in every industry have “outstanding” health insurance policies.

By: Outrider

Outrider — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:06:42 +0000

>>3…. If a health care professional presents me with a novel, alternative malpractice event resolution scheme, I will trade my ‘right’ to unlimited pain-and-suffering damage award potential for access to good health care at a fair price.>>

Most injured patients are not looking for a “payday”. What they want is honesty, good medical care that resolves the problem caused by the physician’s error, and assurance that measures have been taken to minimize chances of the same error being repeated. This requires that the physician behave with some integrity and, probably, apologize for harming the patient.

That will require a radical change in behavior on the part of physicians.

>>8. I will understand the costs of my proposed health care beforehand…. I understand I have the alternative to attend medical school, and provide my own care.>>

My plan has many exclusions, because I am self-employed. The last physician I consulted, employed by a very large institution, could not determine what my insurance would cover even after his insurance specialist contacted the company with repeated specific requests.

And, well, I decided to attend veterinary, not medical school. Though if I had attended medical school I’d have stellar health insurance, rather than the crappy individual policy I had to purchase… the most comprehensive with the lowest deductible available in my state, but it’s still a crappy policy with many exclusions.

No one has mentioned that physicians, like politicians, generally have outstanding health insurance policies.

By: Doctor D

Doctor D — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:43:19 +0000

Seems more like a “wish list” than real responsibilities. I can only guess this is a physician who sacrificed a lot only to be hurt or let down by a lot of her patients. I have had many days I felt like this.

I’m not sure this is a list of responsibilities we really want to ask of our patients. I don’t think I could agree to do all this as a patient.

I don’t want patients to have unrealistic expectations of me. I’m not sure having these unrealistic expectations of patients helps the situation. Patients often come to me because they feel terrible. I can’t expect them to be interested in making my life better.

By: Nuclear Fire

Nuclear Fire — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:52:03 +0000

“surely there is some way to put the intestines back in place without causing adhesions”

Uh, no.

By: medstudent

medstudent — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:37:14 +0000

Sacrificed our youth? No one made us go to med school! Yes, its hard, but I chose this over various other options… if you’re smart enough to get into medical school, you’re smart enough to succeed in another career. I wouldn’t switch places with my friends who already have “real” jobs, or my friends at other graduate schools. Lets remember how lucky we are to be in the roughly 50% of people of all applicants who get accepted!

By: Classof65

Classof65 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:27:50 +0000

My husband had an abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. He was just getting to the point where he was beginning to feel “normal” when he was struck with extreme abdominal pain, turned out to be adhesions resulting in an emergency intestinal surgery — ten inches of bowel were removed and the ends sewn back together. He’s healthy now, but the two surgeries took at least two years off his life. Yes, I know the surgeon saved his life, but it would have been nice if we had known a second surgery is often required — surely there is some way to put the intestines back in place without causing adhesions… And we had no insurance so we spent $60,000 that summer for medical care. Now he’s uninsurable. People like us should have access to a “public option” or else we’ll be facing bankruptcy the next time something goes wrong. We’ve always worked hard and had always depended upon employer-provided health insurance, but we’ve both lost our jobs and are in our early 60s — five more years before we can sign up for Medicare, assuming it’s still around then.

There have to be other options for people like us. Or should we just shoot ourselves and get out of everyone else’s way?

By: SarahW

SarahW — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:50:57 +0000

Never sue a health care professional? I will if they are negligent and hurt me seriously as a result of negligence, or commit a battery that results in serious injury – at least just as soon as I would sue someone who hit my car and broke my bones.

By: drmonte

drmonte — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:18:35 +0000

I had people in my office who’s only job was to deal with insurance companies. They did this every day, and every day they were surprised at the way the insurance companies seemed to endlessly change the rules and reinterpret the rules for individual cases. I don’t think anybody really understands insurance policies – we hope for the best, and often lose.

What doctor isn’t familiar with the refrain from insurance companies: “Remember, authorization of a treatment plan is not a guarantee of payment.” How can anybody even say that with a straight face?

I don’t think it is even remotely fair to blame a patient for not understanding what their insurance company may or may not cover or pay for.

Monte Ladner, M.D.