Preserving Patient Dignity (Formerly Patient Modesty) Volume 123
These days, particularly these days, there is much to write about the preservation of patient dignity by the medical profession. Why these days? Well, it seems like pure politics has taken over important portions of how the medical profession is to behave when attending to the clinical status of their patients. Some might disagree but there is no doubt, at least in my mind, politicians both in government and in medical professional services have taken over the "steering wheel" or the "reins" of how the medical system is being directed to the patient. It is important, in my opinion, that this "take over" be fully recognized by all and something done to bring it to an end... a conclusion. I think that some in politics, law and medicine are failing to fully recognize and attend to this professionally degrading issue.
You should appreciate the value of what you write on this blog thread and the needs of your hopefully constructive comments and actions to promote a betterment of the medical profession.
..Maurice Bernstein, M.D.
posted by Maurice Bernstein, M.D. @ 12:46:00 PM
186 comments
186 Comments:
Hello Cat & JR,
From my previous posts, I believe that you know that I share your conviction that exposure should be controlled by the patient. What I object to is the demonization of an entire profession. In any profession, I would suggest that one-third are compassionate, one-third are indifferent, and one-third are hostile. If one considers distribution via a Bell curve (10-20-40-20-10), one might say that 30% are positive, 40% are neutral, and 30% are negative. This can be viewed in two ways: 1 in 3 will be hostile towards you or, 2 in 3 (twice as many) will be either indifferent or accepting of you. Hating the negative one-third is counter-productive. Hate consumes you. I would rather concentrate on persuading the 60-70% who are positive or indifferent. This can't occur if the entire profession is written off as unchangeable. I admit that affecting change is difficult and frustrating. It will take time and effort. Nevertheless, even small improvements can still be viewed as minor "victories". Furthermore, I see no value in attempting to ascertain one's motives for their beneficial acts. If I'm treated with the dignity that I desire, whether the individual acts from compassion or from duty is immaterial. I received the dignified care I desired period, full stop. It should be our mission to inform others of our perceived inequities in health care AND to advocate for change. Wagging our finger and/or shaming achieves only hostility.
Change in health care does come. Please read the following articles regarding the medical profession's change in the use of catheters (https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/research-and-innovation/specialist-nurses-playing-key-role-in-self-removal-catheter-scheme-12-09-2022/?eea=*EEA*&eea=YlRvNVN4cEx6eDFhVy9iZGN6VWdndnhac1hHYkhhSDlsSGtsNUE0eXE1WT0%3D&deliveryName=DM75675) and (https://emergencymed.org.il/trends-in-urinary-catheter-use-by-indication-in-us-emergency-departments-2002-2019/ The article appeared in JAMA a couple of weeks ago but, is only available by subscription. This Israeli source contains the full text.). I would be the first to say, "What took you so long?" However, change did occur. Additionally, more doctors may be "seeing" the patients' experience (See https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-abstract/2795675).
These are slow, small steps. Let's find ways that hasten and lengthen them. I don't believe that demonizing all medical workers is the answer.
Reginald
Check out this podcast about no underwear during surgery. A woman who had foot surgery was forced to remove her underwear unnecessarily. We need to challenge any hospital that has the no underwear for any surgery policy. This policy is useless and I feel it's a power and control issue.
I love how someone in this podcast mentioned that you are likely to have more germs if you are not wearing underwear. Think about how there would be an increase in germs if people sat on chairs in public places with their genitals not covered.
Misty
Misty, about 10 years ago my wife had foot surgery and w/o her even asking, the doctor told her she could keep her underwear on. This occurred in the pre-op area.
I agree that if the patient has put on a clean pair of underwear, it will enhance the sterility of the OR. The other reason that I have heard for patients being completely nude is in case of emergency the staff doesn't want to waste any seconds removing underwear. What I don't understand is what emergencies require access to the genitals.
I know I read and I believe you also posted about the 1990 or around there the Brown research study that said it’s a totally useless and very outdated policy to have patients remove their underwear. Yet over 20 years later it’s still in practice. ESP now with the Covr surgical undergarments. The nurses are brutal when you bring them up. Not only do they NOT know they exist but not a single one EVER says hmmm maybe we should look into those. So AGAIN... if they protect our dignity as much as they claim. WHY do they give us such a hard time. UNLESS it’s because they really DO want to see our genitals. Things take time and they need to be educated. 2 things. 1) they have to WANT to be educated and 2) it’s already been 20+ yrs since that research came out. How much more time do we need to give them?
Cat
Unless you are wearing boxers all underwear still gives access to the femoral artery. No excuse.
Cat
I think the reason for wanting patients depants for surgery is because the patient could have an accident and it's easier to clean them up if they don't have underwear on. Disposable pull-ups would be the best solution for that. They can easily and quickly ripped by the seams. JF
Reginald,
I do not believe them to be "compassionate/caring" if they stand by and do nothing while patient harm is happening. I don't care if they are indifferent to me or even like me, I do care if they do their job properly without causing me any harm which includes sexual exploitation/abuse or medical assault. I don't care what their reason is for it happening. I look at all as though they may harm because frankly, I have no way of knowing who will do harm for whatever their reason is. I do not feel this is "demonizing" a whole profession but rather being aware of the possibility of harm happening. If it is "demonizing" them by asking why they behave as they do, then so be it. Yes, I have ran into some who do not respond well to the hard questions but I have made some others think about what they are doing. Whether they changed their behavior, I doubt it as the medical community as a whole is very "clique-ish."
As in some other professions (teachers, police, etc.), medical "professionals" must always act in a manner above reproach which they do not. I don't care if for their personal reasons for not doing so. There are some harms like unnecessary exposure that can't be accepted whether it was done intentional or through ignorance because supposedly these people are "professionals" and I have seen their textbooks and yes they are given the correct way to deal with patient dignity. It is not an acceptable plea from a man who rapes a woman to say he did so because he was taught woman are placed on earth for sexual reasons so why should we accept ignorance as their reason for sexual exploitation/abuse?
I stand behind my comment that if how they treat patients is done to them or their loved ones, this would be the best teaching moment for them. Also, we should be able to charge them for sex crimes for the unnecessary exposure because we know much of it doesn't have to be done. As it is done for their benefit and not for the benefit of the patient, doesn't that constitute sexual abuse? Yes, it does. Jail time/personal fines would help them rethink some of their accepted levels of abuse. Again, I will say patients need to have a level of protection such as a chaperone of their choice with them at all times and/or patient-controlled video recordings. Why is it the patient is the only one who is unaware of what happens to them while they are sedated? Why all the secrecy? Because they don't want patients to know how little compassion they have for a patient during the sedated time period. They do realize what they are doing is morally wrong but do it anyhow.
And yes, Reginald, I am angry. I will forevermore be angry until what they did to my husband can be undone. He received no justice. He is just another victim of a system and society that doesn't care how patients are medically and sexually harmed. Being angry is certainly better for me and my husband than to pretend that everything is okay when it is not. The harm they did is everlasting and will cause us both to die early because we have absolutely no trust in the system that still is allowed to operate the same as it did when it intentionally harmed him. While there may be some ones in the system, we have no way of knowing which ones are good or which ones are merely lying to our faces as they did the night they decided it would be fun to harm him.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-nurse-nicole-linton-crash-17435672.php
This is a link to the article abt the nurse I mentioned in a previous post. Will her family be arrested like in several of the school shooter incidents bc they appear to have knowledge she was experiencing issues as she was naked during lunch that day while she FBed them. She also had not been taking her meds according to the article. This is scary stuff bc how does a patient know if their medical provider is having mental issues? We are made defenseless during medical encounters and told we must trust total strangers but should we? Not only are we told outright lies like some who have requested same gender care will get it only to found out after the fact they have been sexually abused which is what it is. I read an article in MedPage that doctors are whining that patients do not have trust in them. Why would we when clearly so many have been lied to.
One of the nurses who intentionally harmed my husband wrote on her social media pages abt her love for Mollys which is a dopamine like substance. It is very handy for her to work in a CCU and also one of the side effects is to make the user sexually bold. She also wrote abt her beauty and her love of alcohol and that every man wants her body which made it a challenge to get a sedated man interested.
These two examples should make everyone think twice before trusting a total stranger with their life. We don't know about their issues but they have total control over us. If they are willing to expose the patient unnecessarily and not to protect them as in their oath, what else are they willing to do?
Just ran across an example of a nurse learning a lesson when it happens to them. She is an ICU nurse who during covid kept patients (some who were dying) from having their family present. She was accepting of this until it came "full circle" and affected her. Now she is speaking out against such barbaric, inhumane, and cruel treatment for not only the sick/dying patient but also for the surviving family who forevermore must live with the fact they were denied their right to be with the patient. Where was the dignity/compassion for those patients and families? Treating patients worse thank prisoners is what the medical system is good at doing.
Something that is missing in this discussion of dignity is the current state of politics. We have seen with Covid that the same tactics that were used on patients to remove their underwear for foot surgery were used on dissenters during Covid.
There was bullying, silencing, gaslighting, etc. all in an attempt to hold on to what little power the profession had and what little they could grab. I am not going to rehash everything that the medical industrial complex, the autocrats, and those drunk on power got wrong; my research posted on my blog serves as a record of the truth.
One lie is enough to question all truth."
Healthcare was complicit with the greed and megalomania of those that would dictate the rules to the peasantry. The powers granted to providers over patients were granted to the providers themselves. What they fail to realize is that healthcare exists in our society and is subject to the self governance of the people of that society. The change is coming.
I believe that the dominant belief in society is seen in the political topics of abortion and vaccine mandates: My body, my choice. I see many people are for limitations or even pro-life, they don't believe that they have a right to impose their beliefs on anyone else. We are beginning to see bodily autonomy on its way to being an enumerated right. Such a movement will put the locus of control back with the person's whose body it is.
Even with the issue of transgender children there is a sympathy that the person may be born that way, but the goal is to protect the patient from the gatekeeping and undue influence of the provider. If we cut out the middle man (provider) and make gender affirming care truly accessible, then the patients can decide for themselves.
-- Banterings
Banterings, what we need done is to get the politicians out of the medical system who are acting as physicians and who are trying to be heard in all aspects of clinical decision making. Yes, there are a few clinicians or former clinicians in United States government who are active in political sites and some put their political ideation and activity over the true needs and benefit of patients.
Anyway, that is my opinion as of 2022. ..Maurice.
Though this is a 2015 article on the subject I presented above it certainly is worth reading now:
https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/opinions/vox-lawmakers-as-doctors
Lawmakers behaving as doctors and making medical decisions that affect all of the public should be identified and their current job reconsidered by the public and patients. ..Maurice.
Dr. Bernstein, I agree that it is not a good thing for politicians to be playing doctor, but at the same time allowing the healthcare industry to do whatever it wants can also be problematic. For example, it seems the only thing that is stopping non-consented pelvic exams by medical students is legislation banning it in certain States. HIPAA gave patients a level of privacy protection that the healthcare industry wouldn't give them voluntarily. When I lived in Massachusetts, it took legislation to force hospitals and insurance companies to allow women a minimum of 24 hours in the hospital after giving birth. Before that they were literally sending women home within a few hours of giving birth.
The disturbing part of this is the medical industry knows right from wrong. The business end of this only concerns themselves with the financial end of it , if it is more expedient to sacrifice a patient’s dignity for speed and efficiency so be it.
On the Doctors nurses and tech end of it they are faced with a work load that makes them cut corners and sacrifice patient modesty and dignity for speed and lose site that these are human beings with feelings and they become desensitized to the emotional trauma and damage they can be inflicting on the patient.
Then you have the voyeurs and sexual predators in their ranks that only adds to the patient experience and possible emotional harm
The problem is without out side forces they will never change unless they see financial gain and to my knowledge none of the corporate wigs took the Hippocratic oath and the ones that did are not living up to it. Jeff
Jeff, perhaps the "outside forces" for change should be the patients (or their attentive family members) themselves.
Therefore I am pleased to read here that such feedback to the administrative level is going on these days. But I don't mean to check off a routine printed feedback summary provided by the administration. I mean a vocal (from patient or family) education to the administration so that the patient and family can provide immediate feedback. I see from previous posts here that maybe occasionally happening. But just as I requested direct feedback from my students when I was teaching clinical medicine, the same should apply in the patient-medical administration relationship. ..Maurice.
JF
Dr B. My phone wouldn't let me read your article about politicians playing doctor so l don't know what you even meant by that. But it reminded me about a true ( supposedly ) story about the Lisa/Joel Steinberg case where lawyer Joel Steinberg's 6 year old adopted daughter was somehow killed by him and/or his girlfriend. At one point in the story Joel's doctor friend allowed him to watch him perform pelvic exams. The patients were told that Joel was a doctor also.
Dr. B you are correct that the only entity that will ever effect change are the patients and family
But we are like a voice crying in the wilderness- Jeff
This past Wednesday, 9/21, I had my first visit to my new Dermatologist. My new primary doc referred me in July but due to my request for a male doctor I wasn't able to see him until now, almost 2 months later. 30 minutes late I was called to come into the exam room. The female who was assigned to me had a name tag on that identified her as Cheryl, but with no other data. At least the front desk help had some information as to what their position was, such as receptionist. All of the staff were wearing blue scrubs.
So, I followed Cheryl to the exam room. She seemed intelligent and competent. Once there, she asked what my concerns were. I explained that I was there to continue with my annual skin exams. My primary was concerned about actinic keritosis spots, which I have from my past sun exposure. She wanted to see it. I showed what my primary had expressed concern about. I also had a spot on my right leg that may be the beginnings of melanoma. She asked that I drop my pants so she could see that. I instead raised my pant leg up to reveal the spot. I then asked her why she had to see the areas of concern when the doctor would see it anyway. No answer.
I asked her if she was aware of my request for a male doctor and she said she was. I then carefully explained the past sexual abuse history and asked if she was aware of that. She was not and once I told her of my past experience, she even brought up the concern about PTSD, her words. She said she totally understood my concerns. We went through my history and talked about how exposure of my body to female medical personnel would cause significant distress. She agreed.
So when Cheryl was done with my initial workup, she told me to undress except for my briefs and to cover myself with a drape she provided and she would be back with the doctor. I told her I wanted to meet my doctor for this initial visit while dressed as it was just more professional for a doctor and patient to meet for the first time with the patient dressed, and not in a subservient position. She said that was fine. I explained that that should be the way all patients should meet their doctors for the first time and not while naked under a drape sheet. She agreed and said she would tell the doctor. I sat there fully dressed.
Soon the doctor came in along with Cheryl. I wasn't concerned since I knew Cheryl knew of the abuse history. I expected the doctor to introduce himself and just talk about why I was here. I expected that soon enough the doctor would excuse himself so I could get undressed and put on the drape provided and then he would come in and proceed with the exam. That's where things fell apart.
58flyer
continued
58Flyer continuing,
The doctor came into the exam room and introduced himself and he seemed very outgoing and friendly. Cheryl came in with him though I wasn't concerned about her at this point. I expected him to exit the room once we had made first contact and to allow me to undress and get myself under the drape. I expected Cheryl to leave and not come back into the room. That did not happen. The doctor then began examining me, starting with my scalp and face, then he asked me to remove my shirt. I did so and he started looking at my upper body and asked about some scaring and other things. He asked about the thing on my leg and looked at it, saying it was of no concern. He asked if I had any other concerns. I did but at that point wasn't about to bring up my concern about a mole on my left buttock. In the past I had been told that that mole should be checked every year as it could start to turn and could be the beginnings of cancer. With Cheryl in the room I could not talk about that, so I let it go.
The doctor breezed out and left me with Cheryl. I asked if my exam was done and she said it was, and I could now dress myself. Only, she didn't leave. I put on my shirt and did not try to tuck it in. I was waiting for her to leave. I asked her why she stayed for the exam and she said she had to document what the doctor did. That made me suspicious and made me think she was not a medical assistant, but a scribe. I then asked her what her position was and did not get an answer, she ignored me. When she got up and went to the door and asked me to follow, I said I need to put myself together. She went out and I shut the door, then tucked my shirt in and then exited the room. Just a few feet away was the desk of the administrative assistant, where I had to go to check out. I paid my co-pay and then left.
So, I did not get the full skin assessment that I paid for. Even though I had made them known of the past sexual abuse I had experienced, they made no effort to accommodate me. That is totally different from my past experience where the professional team made every effort to address my concerns. I am talking about my hip replacement surgeries, and the prostate ablation procedure.
What should have been done? First, the doctor should have done my full skin assessment by himself, without the female assistant, whatever she was. Second, the female assistant knew of the past abuse and should have excused herself from further involvement with me in any way.
I am not surprised that now scribes are now fully involved with male patients. That is a situation that will have to be changed, perhaps by legislation.
Here we go again, Legislation,
58Flyer
JF
Maybe make a complaint to the Medical Board? I wonder if it was him or her that instigated her not leaving.
They just don’t get it!
I know that this has been said before but it deserves repeating. If everyone that is involved in your care had to expose themselves to you before proceeding they would think differently about how they treat you
Their argument would be that you are the patient not them and that would be true but if they searched their heart they would have to admit they would be embarrassed and humiliated to expose themselves in that way to a stranger especially of the opposite gender
Why do they think that a patient has to sacrifice all dignity for their ease and expediency. And for me the emotional toll that has on me is something they don’t or won’t consider - Jeff
JF
I've been thinking about 58flyers post a bit since I read it. I kinda think maybe the scribe should have been told about the potentially Cancerous mole and made aware that SHE was the reason the full skin exam wasn't done. Also possibly that their one sided policies are a large part of why men avoid medical care. ( not that she would care, but she MIGHT )
58flyer, I am perplexed as to what Cheryl's status is. It sounds like she is in a hybrid scribe/medical asst. role which makes sense, but her attempt to have you remove your pants so that she could do her own exam would seem to mandate that she be something more than that. I wonder if she is an LPN, though if she was it doesn't make sense that she wouldn't identify herself. It is possible she is non-licensed and being allowed to do things that require a license, hence not answering your question.
Regardless of what she is, I wonder if she'd of given you some privacy had the exam gotten to the point that you actually undressed. I had shared this previously but for my last skin exam, the female scribe sat facing the wall for the entirety of my exam, and the Resident gave me a more through exam that I was getting from the Dermatology Chief of Staff that I had been assigned to. Regretfully that Resident graduated and moved to Indiana. Had he stayed in VT or NH I'd of followed him to wherever he went.
58Flyer,
I need to do a blog post about how to file complaints and with what agencies.
Here is a link to file a complaint with the Joint Commission.
I recommend filing the incident online.
The most important part of your complaint is the issue of safety to yourself and other patients.
The potential or retraumatization to existing PTSD and the failure for patients to receive a complete skin exam and the hinderance of their discussions with their doctors.
You can also point out the misrepresentation of Cheryl about her position and her failure to follow state law that providers identify their position (almost all states have this requirement).
Finally is that her failure to state her position may result in patients expressing concerns to her (thinking that she is a nurse) and not properly being relayed to the doctor (which happened to you).
I can tell you that within 2 days the facility will be contacted and they will be making changes same day. This happened when Melissa filed a complaint about her best friend's treatment.
-- Banterings
Im doing my annual compliance training.HIPAA has 18 violations. 2 of which are. Medical history and treatment and any other characteristics that could uniquely identify an individual. This information is ONLY to be discussed with individuals who have direct care of the patients care or payment. This means EVERY SINGLE NURSE/DOCTOR/ORDERLY... whoever on Quora/allnurses any social media site who directly answers a question about the worst/best/ most memorable etc etc. Is going directly against HIPAA and is a firable offense. Someone needs to go after them. Thoughts?
Cat
Cat, if NO patient name, other names, institution name or institutionally identifiable treatment name or other information that might specifically identify the institution and patient is perhaps a worthy and safe way of offering to the public information regarding the behavior that may be occurring within the medical system itself. Again, if the publicizing writer has displayed personal identification with any named institution, such disclosures should not be published to the public. Rather, that information should be disclosed personally to the officials of the institution itself or official regulatory bodies.
I have confidence that the behaviors described on this blog thread has been free of specific HIPPA
disclosure identification issues by the writer. ..Maurice.
And then... there is violence against healthcare workers that may not be fully publicized:
https://www.kevinmd.com/2022/08/keep-us-safe-stop-the-violence-against-health-care-workers.html
..Maurice.
DR B. everyone here talks about themselves. Im talking about the other sites. Where the staff give details about the patients they have dealt with. Even without a name, its a public forum. Somebody out there could relate the illness to themselves. Quora many people use their real names. Its also easy for the patient to say, hey... my nurses name was Pam, is she describing ME?
Cat
Dr. B.,
Hopefully you know it is HIPAA not HIPPA. I hope not knowing this is not a telltale sign that you don't know what HIPAA actually is. Also, some information abt patients can be of a personally identifiable nature save a tattoo, a story, or a certain illness as well as a pic even if it doesn't show their face. I remember reading abt a case where a plastic surgeon who did breast implants used a patient's before and after pics and someone recognized her and soon it came to her attention.
I have read plenty of articles where they are talking abt violence/harm against healthcare workers but yet where are the articles of violence against patients from healthcare workers. Maybe they should also study why there is violence against healthcare workers. Could it be because once harmed by a healthcare worker, the patient rarely gets justice? Also, the ER violence is mostly from mental health patients or drug/alcohol users. Sometimes a patient might have an adverse reaction to versed or such and become violent which is a side effect of versed.
I have read some of the Quora posts Cat is speaking of and they give enough details that someone could be identified. However, OCR is not interested in pursuing individual violations unless it becomes so public they cannot ignore it so most medical providers know this and know that HIPAA as well as the OCR are a bad joke on patients.
As for the safety of medical workers, I'll show the same amount of worry about their safety as they show for my bodily dignity and autonomy. Seems fair to me.
JR, of course I understand the need and value of HIPAA as we have participated actively for years in medical ethics, medicine law and medical student education.
It sets limits, standards to "who should know what" about a patient's clinical life. Sorry for the misprint.
And then there is the matter, as in the title of our blog thread, the preservation of patient dignity. Here is a brief but meaningful presentation regarding dignity as brought forward by Queen Elizabeth and how, even in her passing, should be maintained within the various aspects of our lives, including medicine:
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981581
..Maurice.
JR.. it depends on WHO the patient is. Examples of HiPAA violations were part of the training. Kim K and Brittany Spears both had their medical histories gone through and posted on social media. 17 people combined got fired. If it was mine or yours nothing would be done
All posters here please be sure if you don't have any other poster identification on entry please sign off at the end of your posting with a unique repeatable pseudonym. ..Maurice.
Thanks for the responses everyone. Sorry to not get back in a timely manner. I was tied up with current events, namely Hurricane Ian, along with prep and deprep, that distracted me. But, the storm passed us by a fair distance and all is well here.
Thanks Banterings with the links to the Joint Commission. I will look into that.
I finally got around to filing a complaint with the Florida Department of Health on the Occupational Therapist at Encompass Hospital. As I expected, my complaint went nowhere. I was able to connect with the investigator who reviewed my case. He said that gender was not any reason for a violation. I told him that it wasn't a gender issue, it was a consent issue, as I had denied consent yet they proceeded with it. He couldn't be bothered to change anything. I don't think he actually read my complaint very thoroughly. I asked if the OT I complained on would be advised of the complaint. He said she wouldn't. That bothered me. At least she should have been advised of any pending complaint. That usually gets their attention. So now it appress that she is unaware of any complaint.
With my recent event with the Dermatologist, I wrote my primary care physician a letter about my experience. I took the letter to his office personally. The next day he called back and we had a lively discussion in which he apologized profusely about my experience. He was also rushed since they were about to shut down for the hurricane and had to call patients to reschedule. The timing didn't work well for me. I said he could share my letter with the Dermatologist and I think he already had. He did say that Cheryl was a medical assistant but was probably unqualified to know what to do about what I had told her. That she should exclude herself from my care no doubt didn't occur to her. He said he would talk to the Dermatologist about going forward and offered to refer me to another Dermatologist if I preferred. I said that would depend on how the previous Dermatologist handled the issue. We ended with that as he was very rushed with all the hurricane matters. I did appreciate that he took the time in the middle of all the drama of the weather situation to get back with me.
58flyer
Hello 58flyer,
I'm sure that most of us can't fathom the devastation that you and the people of Florida have endured these past few days. We wish you Godspeed in your recovery. When things have calmed in a few weeks, you may wish to re-contact your GP or Dermatologist re your complaint, to determine if any further action was taken. You are correct when you say that if she isn't informed, no change will occur. Your GP should be commended for his candidness and empathy; however, if the individual isn't apprised of your complaint, you've essentially wasted your time and no improvement will occur. Although it's tedious and frustrating, stick with it. Change can occur but, sometimes, we need to make it happen. I wish you well.
Reginald
58flyer, I am sorry that the FL Dept. of Health was dismissive of your complaint. I wonder if they'd of taken it seriously had it been a woman complaining about a non-consented intimate procedure by two male staff.
I'm glad your primary care provider was responsive to your dermatology complaint. Hopefully the dermatologist will be responsive. It could be that Cheryl never even mentioned to him what you said. That she would be deemed unqualified to know what to do with the background story that you gave to her speaks to her not having been trained well, perhaps because such issues never occurred to the people who trained her. Everyone in healthcare should be trained to practice trauma informed care.
I'm glad you fared well in the hurricane.
I want to know why a meer MA wanted to see the concerned area? That is non of her business.
Cat
Yea you might as well show it to the receptionist. She has no business assessing anything. - jeff
No visitor Comments for a week. Does this mean the topic of his blog thread here has been fully dissected and the anatomy displayed. On the other hand there is a point of argument that does need, I think, further dissection. That matter is whether with regard to the point as to whether the man or woman in this society who have found themselves under medical attention should maintain control of what is to be observed as part of what is within or on the outside of his or her body as well as what will be done about it. This control should also be considered from current issues of abortion to gender identification. There should be no argument against a patient's views that all this is for the patient to decide. Is that now the point of emphasis to this thread topic? ..Maurice.
Dr. Bernstein, there are endless healthcare scenarios a patient could find themselves in, many of which include intimate exposure under scheduled or emergency circumstances. No matter the scenario, the golden rule should be that intimate exposure is minimized in terms of extent, duration, and audience to that which is necessary.
Beyond intimate matters, amongst the fundamentals of treating patients with respect are things such as caregivers introducing themselves as to who and what they are and what they are there for. Also, asking before bringing observers in, and obtaining informed consent before starting exams and procedures.
Even if it were miraculously prioritized, it will take at least a generation to achieve substantive change in the gender demographics of caregivers, but the behavior of current caregivers could change today if they thought patient privacy and dignity mattered.
While my personal attention has been on the manner in which general population male patients are treated, I acknowledge that others have additional layers of concerns based on other factors such as race, sexual identity etc. I can only imagine the extent to which transgenders are disrespected by curious staff that want to "get a look" that don't have a legitimate need to look, and of the ensuing conversations at the nurse's station.
My main concern in all of this is not the choices that people make but the lack of true informed consent. They know that they are playing a game with this and the amount of of deception on their part is astounding. The amount of people that go in for procedures that wake up in post op have no idea what was done to them or by whom and this is done by design it’s only when a crack appears in their vale of secrecy that some patients when they become aware how badly they were unnecessarily exposed especially to opposite gender individual’s that they end up like me suffering severe PTSD that remains unresolved 3 years after the fact because they refuse to practice trauma informed care
The whole issue of abortion and sexual orientation for me is a moral and personal issue and is not at the heart of the healthcare industry’s problem. - Jeff
JF Possibly they've said everything they had to say.
Unlike some, I don't believe the modesty/ dignity violations are accidental. Obviously SOME are but somebody started all this garbage. A lot of compliments have been ignored. Certain doctors saying that nobody other than the patient now complaining has ever complained in his/her entire career. SOMEBODY STARTED ALL THIS. And although male modesty is disregarded more than female modesty it's because females are squeeky wheels and so are her family members regarding her modesty violations. Partly why this blog gets slow at times is because EO, PT and probably 10 others no longer chime in.
Moving on to another aspect of the maintenance of patient dignity is the issue of the legality of suicide.
From Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/suicide
]
Suicide is the intentional taking of one’s own life. This case from Maryland, explains that “suicide is the intentional taking of one’s own life, i.e., by his or her own hands.”
Suicide is no longer considered a crime in the United States; however, some states have attempted suicide listed as a crime in their criminal statutes. On the other hand, assisted suicide (when someone helps another to commit suicide) is a crime in all U.S. states, with physician-assisted suicide being an exception to this rule in some states.
The discussion here can be, if interested, much more than whether a patient
is dressed or undressed. ..Maurice.
how about we talk about the dignity of having scientific debate rather than labelling views different than your own as disinformation, cancelling those who who have differing views, and calling those who stand up for their rights domestic terrorists?
this is just more hubris of the mindset of "i am a doctor and it is because i say so..."
only this time the dissent was also from within the profession.
let us talk about the irreparable harm the profession of medicine inflicted upon itself during the pandemic. just like unnecessary exposure of patients, it was based on whims, narcissism, and an exercise of personal power.
there is a reconning coming. this will take away any credibility and trust that the profession of medicine had left.
we see that they are tone deaf to society and hang on to the false notion that they have that paternalistic power that they once had.
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. -- Matthew 23:12
One need only to look at the controversy, denial, and accusations arising from Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo is recommending that adult men under 40 stay away from the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Another point of contention where science is showing that "the doctor doesn't know best" is that Colonoscopy Fails to Prevent Colon Cancer Deaths in Large Study. Already the medical industrial complex is trying to pick this study apart.
...violating patients saves lives... ***sarcasm***
it is actually all about the money. the sackler family owners of purdue pharma (makers of oxycontin) reached a deal with a group of attorneys general to pay up to $6 billion in cash to resolve widespread litigation alleging that they fueled the u.s. opioid epidemic.
purdue pharma influence physicians’ prescribing, misrepresented the risks (addiction), and put profits ahead of patient safety.
-- banterings
JF
I remember once in the 80's reading in the newspaper about a woman being arrested for disorderly conduct for attempting to kill herself. That was crazy ( in my opinion ) Also sometimes people said to have committed suicides possibly didn't. Like in the 9/11 attack some people jumped out windows knowing they wouldn't survive the fall. That can't rightly be considered suicide. They were dying anyway. They just didn't want to burn to death. I don't have an opinion otherwise. But I'm having trouble getting on this blog. Finally I've figured out that I have to go to Volume 120 and scroll to the bottom and push the arrow pointing left. Then repeat the process until I'm finally on Volume 123. Also I'm being limited about how much I can write.
JF.. for some reason im always anonymous now. Ive put in my password several times and it still wont show me. I also never get the links at the end of the volume to be actual links. It takes awhile to be able to pull up the right volume. I end up having to go through history. Cat
It's slow, so a minor observation.
My wife's orthopedist's receptionist called stating they no longer provide the yearly injection for rheumatoid arthritis, that her medical records had been transferred to another MD, and she should call them for an appointment. Just another day where the medical bureaucracy knows best.
If the medical institution didn't consider her just an object to be processed, the reception would state they no longer provide the injection, but would like to retain her as a patient for all the other services. They would provide her the names and phone numbers of 3-4 MDs that do the injection and maybe recommend one of the MDs. They would ask if she wanted to research other orthopedists and after she made an appointment with a MD to return their call so that they could send her med records to the new MD.
Just another example of the condescending arrogance of medical institutions vs the common courtesy of how a business would handle the situation.
BJTNT
If she doesnt want to go to that provider and finds a new one. That provider will then charge her for a copy of those records. Which shouldn't have gone to him in the first place. Cat
In response to Dr. Bernstein's post about suicide & assisted suicide, doctor-assisted suicide is legal in my State and I've yet to hear of it being abused. Nothing I would do but I'm glad it is an option for others. That said, should I ever start slipping into dementia, I will cease taking my heart meds and any other medical intervention so as to let Mother Nature take me sooner. Spent too much time in a nursing home visiting my in-laws to let that happen to myself.
On banterings post, I very much agree. It feels like we're slipping into a dark age where scientific debate, and even curiosity, is punished if it challenges the politics of the ruling class and the economic interests of their donors.
BJTNT, when my prior primary care (a PA) left for another job, I was reassigned to my current PA (in the same practice), but I was told to contact them if I wanted someone else. When my wife's primary care (an NP) in a different practice left, they just informed her of the fact. Given how hard it is to find a doctor that is taking new patients in rural America (how we came to have a PA and NP as our primary care providers), it was no small task for her to find someone else, even another PA or NP. I'd take some comfort in the fact that your wife was assigned to another doctor. She can always switch if not to her liking and there are other options where you live, but she is at least guaranteed a spot that they got her into.
This past weekend I attended an event in another state. It is related to history and a group of us have enjoyed getting together to share our love of US history.
The first evening while sitting around a table discussing just about anything that came up, my friend Bob started telling about his recent experience with a female dermatologist. He lamented getting old as he has had to find new doctors when his prior ones either retired or died. He has been referred to 3 new doctors in the past year alone. He brought up that his new female dermatologist had him strip to the nude for his exam and that she commented about his embarrassment . Now, Bob is a funny guy and sometimes makes light about some of the most outlandish things you could think of. That was my first thought. Then another guy in our group commented on his recent cardiac experience which involved exposure to females. Then another guy popped up and talked about his recent urology visit. I am thinking, is this really happening? I didn't say a word. Soon enough, the topic changed.
The next evening after dinner, Bob again brought up the dermatologist visit. This time he told about the presence of 3 females in his exam which included the doctor. I asked him if he knew who the other 2 women were. He responded that one was a nurse practitioner and one was a nurse. Since Bob is married to a nurse I thought he knew what he was talking about. Since we were in a smaller group this time I asked how he knew this. Bottom line, he didn't since none of the staff was wearing name tags. No doubt both of these women were far less qualified than he thought. Bob then commented about how the doctor joked about his embarrassment which was very obvious at this point. He said she asked him jokingly if he was embarrassed to be naked with 3 women in the room. At that point I said that I would have responded to her: "How would you feel about being naked in front of 3 men?" Bob said he didn't say a word.
I could see Bob was not in his usual gregarious way. I began to think that Bob was troubled by the experience. The fact that he brought it up twice spoke volumes.
I tried a few times to get Bob off by himself and talk about what he went through but that was difficult since Bob is a very popular guy and getting him alone is basically impossible. I have known him for about 5 years and I could see he was troubled about this. What was he looking for in bringing this up in front of his peers? I don't know, maybe hearing the stories of others let him know he is not alone? Maybe he just wanted to vent and he only knows how to do that in a joking way. I have his phone number and thought about calling him and asking if he wants to talk.
Bob is lifetime public service professional as a fire fighter and it bothers me that he has to go through this.
58flyer
58flyer,
The fact the female doctor asked such a sexual question made it a sexual situation and too bad Bob had not recorded what happened. If a male doctor with an all male team asked the same question of a female patient, there would be an issue. Bob should file a complaint of sexual harassment because clearly she had put him on display for sexual reasons. Another example of how medical providers do have sexual thoughts/motives and yet we are told they leave "sex" at the door which we know is a lie. No wonder there is so much mistrust of the medical community. Another question is why it took 3 women to give Bob an exam? It doesn't is the answer but why? Why would a doctor go out of her way to humiliate a patient? What is in Bob's medical records? Bob needs to know who those other two women are and their purpose for being there. Also, this doctor violated trust by having those women in there without first asking Bob and identifying their purpose.
58flyer, your friend Bob's handling of it amongst his male peers is classic "manning up" making light of highly embarrassing/upsetting events. I've done the same as have most men I think. An example is my 1st bladder cancer surgery. In addition to the sexualized "I'm going to get to know you real well" comment from the OR nurse moments before I was put under, while in the pre-op area, 5 medical students waltzed in to tell me (not ask) that they'd be observing my surgery, 4 women and 1 man. None introduced themselves and they came across as a bunch of giggling teenagers rather than serious medical students. They came across as if I was the day's entertainment rather than serious educational lesson.
When I returned to work I found myself bringing the topic up with my buddies, same as your friend Bob, and making light of it, same as your friend. Being my surgery was in Boston and I lived far from there out in the countryside, I joked that word had spread that a real man, a country boy, was in town and the hospital had to practice crowd control given there were so many women who wanted to get a good look. We all laughed but underneath I was very embarrassed by what had happened, and bravado was my way of of making believe it didn't bother me, same as your friend Bob.
I think he should follow-up over her seemingly enjoying his embarrassment and effectively sexualizing the encounter, and also not introducing (let alone asking for an OK) the two observers.
Hello 58flyer,
Please consider contacting your friend to ask if he'd like to further discuss the situation. From your description, I think he would appreciate your concern for him.
Take care.
Reginald
What is it about the field of dermatology that justifies having multiple people in attendance? I know in my experience there were an extra person or two in the room. If it was just shirt off for cyst removal I could handle that though I was not at all comfortable. A couple of total skin assessments have not gone well. Biker you have mentioned some extra people with your dermatology visits.
I have a problem with what amounts to a secretary taking notes for data entry. Or a medical assistant, if that's what they were, present to assist if needed. I think back to other providers and there is my older primary care doctor who wrote out his notes long hand on paper and then gave them to his nurse and from there to the scribe. My new younger primary just taps away at his laptop all during the encounter. My urologist does the same thing. My sons pediatrician uses a voice recorder. My orthopedic doctor uses a laptop and I have watched him highlight a field and speak into the laptop and the field is filled with his comments. Pretty neat.
I really wish my friend Bob would make a formal complaint about his experience, or perhaps if there is a Press Gainey review he could make a few appropriate comments. That will have to be his decision.
58flyer
58flyer, your friend Bob may not realize that he can in fact complain about how he was treated. Before I found my voice I didn't know it was OK to speak up and complain about female staff needlessly exposing me or otherwise being inappropriate.
And yes,dermatology seems to be in a world of its own that thinks male patients are there for the viewing pleasure of the female staff. I suspect some of the scribes, chaperones, medical assts., and LPN's are attracted to dermatology for the access it gives. I recall my very first derm visit where I just had my shirt off and the way that the medical asst. looked at me, the NP too for that matter.
I’m not sure what is going on but you have to go through a maze to get to volume 123 which is going to limit the amount of people that see this site and participate
Jeff
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/14/1129006503/doctors-first-name-mayo-clinic-study
I read this linked story on NPR's website about a study which shows approximately 1/3 of patients call their doctors by their first names. The study referenced is reported in 10/5/22 JAMA Network Open. Apparently, the use of a formal salutation in addressing the physician (i.e., using the title "Doctor" or "Doctor Surname") in written or spoken form is becoming less common. In the JAMA cited study, analyzing electronic communication between doctor and patient, female physicians had twice the odds as males to be called by first name. Female patients had approximately 40% lower odds to address their physician by first name.
Why am I interested in these results? I’m not a doctor, but the results still resonate with me. I do not care to be called by my first name by the bank teller, by the store cashier after handing me back my credit card, OR by my doctor. There is a sense of respect between parties when titles and last names are used. Even a “Sir” or “Ma’am” will work.
In a patient/doctor context, when I am even more vulnerable than I am at the bank or checkout line, I absolutely need the doctor to treat me respectfully. So I make sure I’m the first to greet the doctor as he/she comes through the exam room door, and do so formally with title. And I expect the same respectful reply, although, unfortunately, I do not always receive this (sometimes no name at all, sometimes first name only). The doctor should ask how I would like to be addressed at our first meeting, and make note of my answer for the future.
I think both doctors and patients would benefit by keeping interactions formal, respectful, and kind.
-SB
I would tend to agree with SB since in order to preserve patient dignity it certainly would be appropriate for the physicians or others in the medical profession, as part of the introduction, take a moment and ask the patient how they "should be called". As I recall that was my instruction related to patient-introduction which I taught my first year medical students. ..Maurice.
Hello SB,
Take heart that if 1/3 are called by first name, 2/3 are, presumably, using a title. I also agree that a bit of formality via Mr., Mrs., Ms, and/or Dr. lends more dignity to the situation.
Reginald
JF
I recently discovered that if you push the Notify me button, we will be notified and won't have to go through an obstacle course.
I always call doctors "Dr (their last name)" out of respect and would prefer to be called "Mr. (my last name)" for the same reason, but I don't make a fuss if they call me by my proper name. Calling me by the common nickname for my proper name is a step too far however.
I remain at a loss as to what to call an NP or PA however as I'm not comfortable using their first name and in such a setting sir or mam doesn't seem right either. What I do is try to converse w/o using any name.
JF
I don't believe any doctor ever addressing me by any name or title. One time a Physician Assistant called me Mam. The nurse ( or whoever she is ) calling me back to the exam room just called me Judith. I'm okay with that.
It is very important to the understanding of what is written to this blog thread that we all have understanding of which contributor to this thread has done the writing. This means everyone who writes here should be identified by at least some pseudonym. If it is not part of the system's signin then it should be always recorded at the END of the written text like here on my postings despite my system identification. Let's keep Anonymous away from communication here. We all do want to know who is writing what. ..Maurice.
Well... we have another one. Dr Heaps a gyn from UCLA has been found guilty of sexual assault. This is the kicker. The women complained to the university and they were IGNORED.. sound familiar? The Dr was found guilty on several counts, but not on several others. UCLA needs to loose its accreditation for ignoring the students. IF what the medical staff say is true about these incidents are far and few between, then WHY is this the 4th case in 2 months coming to light? How many happen daily, that go on in front of their faces, that they too ignore and/or then lie to protect their co worker? Those who ignore are just as guilty by association and should loose their licenses.
Cat
I agree Cat! The scariest part is only a small percentage of the going’s on in medicine see the light of day because of the amount of energy that is spent trying to hide it is astounding
Jeff
JF
I heard that hearing aids are now being sold over the counter, and that they are much less expensive because of it. Why couldn't our country follow the lead of some of the other advanced countries whose medical cost aren't extortional? Why does our leaders think it's so okay to overcharge patients so somebody higher up can be overpaid? The exposed and humiliated patients follows the same principle. Rob the patient of dignity so the medical staff can have more dignity by contrast. If patients suffer long term harm because of it? O well! They're expendable.
To 58 flyer
Regarding scribe in the exam room.
One would think that with current technology a physician wouldn’t need a scribe, that they would become obsolete. In light of voice recognition programs and software. A scribe is just redundant but not only redundant but the gender requirements, female. Secondly most er exam rooms have a curtain and therefore a scribe can stand behind the curtain and hear the physician clearly.
PT
Cat, yes it seems whenever anyone is finally brought to account that it then surfaces that it has been going on for years and years. I suppose it proves out the premise that chaperones are there to protect the doctor. These kinds of cases are usually male doctor - female patients, but sometimes it is male doctor - male patients. In the former, it is especially distressing that the female chaperones haven't protected other women. Perhaps the problem is not that they looked the other way but that the low level staff typically used as chaperones simply are so poorly trained that they don't know what the doctor is doing is wrong.
Administrators not listening to patient complaints is something else entirely, especially when it is multiple patients complaining. It is hubris in the extreme that administrators think they can allow the abuse to go on indefinitely without it ever coming back to bite them.
JF
Biker, the female chaperone wouldn't know the doctor was doing anything wrong
,I think most adult women have had pelvic exams at some point. I think it's more like the chaperone is protecting her own job or income
PT, thanks for your return and comment to this blog thread. For anyone's interest, relative to PT's comment, my internist has his scribe outside the exam room, within a separate room, who there monitors through a communication system, and records the physician's comments. ..Maurice.
My husband had a follow up appt with his gastro this morning. "I" had questions for him prior to scheduling the colonoscopy. The Dr is on board with sedation free, he will not get any IVs for the concern drugs will be given against his consent. On the off beat chance he does need drugs IVs can be inserted in seconds and drugs take effect just as quick. Boxers backwards can be worn ( doc even said " stand your ground against the nurses, Ive approved them, also stand your ground against the IV"). Also, he is prescribing a type of muscle relaxer to be taken orally prior to the procedure to lessen any discomfort. Doc was impressed with my research. Lol. His doc is 60ish and a foreigner. Indian or some middle eastern nationality. He gets it. My husband also mentioned that this is never offered to patients, doc agreed. So maybe.. just maybe the nursing staff will back off some for others, when they see a doctor is ok with the above and it IS possible. Doubtful but hopeful. I just love the fact the doc said dont let them bully you. Just not in those words. I also love the fact that my husband is actually taking my advice and advocating for himself. Even if i statred it. Lol.
Sorry the above was from Cat
Hello Cat,
I wrote an article about no sedation colonoscopy on Misty's Medical Patient Modesty. Please review it. You may wish to reconsider the oral tranquilizers. They'll make your husband drowsy and susceptible. (Possibly, consider a very, very low dose.) He'll also, probably, be asked to turn or change positions during the procedure, which will be difficult with tranquilizers. Additionally, since we're not concerned with a sterile environment, ask the doc if you can be present. For my no sedation colonoscopy two male nurses stood by and did nothing. You could do the same. If nurses are necessary, ask for male nurses. He should absolutely refuse the cannula. They'll want to place this on the back of his hand "just in case" he needs sedation. Furthermore, with no cannula he (or his insurance) will not be charged for sedation. (This happened to me and, I had the sedation charge removed since the hospital notes indicated that I refused the cannula.) I can assure you that, since the colon has no nerve endings, he will not feel pain. ABSOLUTELY REFUSE THE CANNULA. It will be totally unnecessary for his unsedated colonoscopy. He'll probably feel pressure as the scope moves from the descending colon to the transverse colon. After that he's home free. The most fascinating part of the procedure will be the video. Since he'll be awake, he'll be able to watch as the scope proceeds through his colon. Where else can you view the inside of your body with no untoward results. Please be adamant with his desire for no sedation. Most of Europe has no sedation colonoscopy. Also, please give us a report of your encounter. I wish you and your husband well. Thank you for being his loyal advocate.
Reginald
Its more of an anti spasm drug. So im not sure its in the tranquilizer family.
cat, I've had 4 colonoscopies w/o sedation. I have allowed them to do the "just in case" IV placement as a compromise and it has never been needed. The gastroenterologist does the Doctors Without Borders thing in Africa and so for him its not a big deal doing it w/o sedation. I think the "sedate for everything" is an American phenomena. As Reginald notes, it is not the norm in Europe either.
As Reginald notes, there is no pain, but your husband might feel some pressure from the air that is inflating the colon to make the passage easier and view better. It is very interesting to watch it on the screen.
I'm OK with removing all clothing on account I am awake for it all and know that I won't be needlessly exposed. On Quora there have been a few questions about whether sedated patients are exposed during initial positioning or afterwards when they are re-positioned back to lying on their back and the gown getting adjusted. None of the participating healthcare staff ever answer the question so I presume patients are exposed before and/or after the procedure when the patient is sedated.
I wish I would have known about an anti spasm drug when I had my most recent colonoscopy because I did it without sedation and had an unbelievable colon spasm that was intensely painful. But I would do it all again spasm and all rather than be sedated. They were very careful not to expose me because I was awake believe me when you are sedated they take no care at all to keep your genitals covered
Jeff
My husband is 6'2" and the gowns are usually knee length or shorter, so im sure the repositioning shifts it. Ive looked up so many colonoscopy photos and some if you are moved to supine they are no longer behind you but in between your legs and several have the gown up or off to the side and someone pushing on your stomach. Of course those sedated have no clue. Even if they are awake talking, they dont remember it. Cat
Hello Cat,
Wearing the boxers backwards solves the exposure problem. As I mentioned in Misty's blog, you may need to lengthen the fly for easy scope entry.
Reginald
I was looking up colonscopy shorts. Did you know the cheapest pair for hospitals to buy is 1CENT a peice. The most expensive is 22 CENTS. There is absolutely no reason these facilities can not afford them. Illgive them the damn penny, they charge us enough anyway. I was reading where a womanwho had no sedation was charged 250 for recovery room. She went in there to put her clothes back on. There is only 1 reason why hospitals wont get them. THEY WANT TO SEE US NAKED. Cat
Cat, I would never have guessed that the colonoscopy shorts were that cheap. I'm surprised that the MBA's in the corporate suites haven't seized upon offering them as an option at $100 a pair.
I once challenged a $600 recovery room charge on account I never even went to the recovery room but rather got dressed in the procedure room, and left from there. First they insisted I did use it, but I hadn't been sedated and there was no need to bring me to it. Then they said it was for nursing care. I said nursing care is built into the overall charges for the procedure and that if nurses were charged separately they wouldn't term it recovery room but rather would say it was for nursing care. They removed it from the bill after I explained the situation to a friend that works in the billing dept. She was able to get it fixed for me.
On your comment "they want to see us naked", I will add that it isn't the doctors in most cases. For colonoscopies they don't come into the room until the patient is prepped and positioned and then they leave before the patient is cleaned up and re-positioned. Same with things like cath labs. The patient is shaved, positioned, and draped before the doctor ever enters the room, and then gone before all the cleanup afterwards, and the doctors aren't the ones lifting the gowns & sheets to check for bleeding. The vast majority of intimate exposure/intimate care is done by non-physicians, and for the most part this is female staff. A significant number of doctors, given the nature of their specialties, never see a naked patient. I have long maintained that people in healthcare gravitate to the positions that best meet their needs be it hours, location, or interests. There are many many things that can fall under the heading of interests, and sadly for some voyeurism is one of them.
JF
Cat. At the Assisted Living Homes that I have worked at, a patient has to pay full price for a room even if they are in the hospital. I could see it if somebody else is trying to rent a room but can't because it's being held for somebody. But the patient pays full price even if nobody is trying to rent out a room. Also one of my former Director of Nursing once told us that our patients pay $60 dollars everytime staff has to assist them with their shower. And if they're SCHEDULED for a shower but can't get it because we were too short staffed? I don't know for sure but I suspect that they are charged for it anyway.
This past week I went to my newly assigned Dermatologist. I actually didn't get to see the dermatologist but instead the nurse practitioner. He is a DNP, Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Same drill...the medical assistant called me out of the waiting room, late as usual. She does the work up and when she was done asked me to remove my clothing since this was scheduled to be a full skin assessment. She started by asking me how I felt about being undressed and if I was embarrassed about the gown. She said that I didn't have to wear the gown if I didn't want to. I said absolutely that I needed the gown. I asked her why she asked that and she said that most men preferred to not wear the gown since it was embarrassing. I said the the gown is embarrassing but just sitting around in just my underwear was far more embarrassing. I asked her how did she know what men preferred. She said that is what she was lead to believe about men. I again asked her how she knew what men preferred and how many men she had asked. Her answer was maybe...2. I asked how long she had been employed as a medical assistant and she replied about 4 years. So, she has gotten this idea that men prefer to not wear a gown based on the interview with just 2 male patients. When I told her of my need for a gown she said that was fine and that she would go and get me a gown. OK, why was there not a supply of gowns in the room? When she left I looked through the drawers and cabinets and while I found various paper drapes, there were no gowns. Soon she came back in and placed a gown before me. Before she left I said that we need to talk.
I explained that she needed to listen to me very carefully. So she sat down in the chair. I explained the past sexual abuse and why it pertained to the present situation. She agreed and said she understood that I might be uncomfortable. I said that uncomfortable was an understatement, it was more like shocking, heart pounding, distressing, to name a few. I told her there was a reason that I was telling her this and that I expected her to tell the doctor about this and that her presence was not going to work for me. She said she would tell the doctor. She left and I undressed but kept on the underwear and put on the gown. I noticed that the drawstrings had been removed.
Soon enough the DNP came into the room and introduced himself. He said right away that he had been advised of my abuse past and that he was fine with not having an assistant. He thanked me for bringing it up. While I was concerned that I did not get assigned to the Dermatologist, I have to admit that he did find a pre-cancerous growth on my scalp that was missed by the previous Drematologist. He froze it off along with some other areas of concern.
So, overall, this was a better experience than with the prior Dermatologist. I do plan to make this place my yearly Derm provider. When I was asked by email to provide a feedback, I gave them positive feedback but also said that ALL patients should be provided gowns without asking regardless of the gender. I hope it hits home if they actually read the reviews.
58flyer
58flyer, sounds like it went well and you now have a new dermatologist, plus you've helped the Medical Asst with her scientific study. Adding you to her database, with a sample of 3, she can now tell patients that 1/3 of men want a gown. Good follow-up on your part about just giving all patients gowns.
JF
Are you who had that Cheryl as chaperone/scribe a couple of months ago? If so you handled your case so much better or maybe you just got better staff than before. I'm still a little upset that you made yourself bell clear with Cheryl but that it was like talking to a wall.
JF, yes that was me with Cheryl. Even though I explained myself as to what my needs were, she was clueless.
58flyer
I wanted to encourage everyone to read a new article, Why Advance Directives are Necessary.
Misty
Excellent article Misty. Thanks for posting.
58flyer
JF
The last couple of months we've been visiting my sick brother every chance. He has a motorcycle and biker friends and I believe that kept him going ( plus his kids and his little granddaughter ) He lived long enough to attend her birthday party when she turned 3.
I almost didn't recognize him at that birthday party. He'd lost all his hair except for his mustache. I just really hope that Hospice didn't kill him. He was up and walking until his last 2 days. Me and my sister had dinner with him a week before he died. Only he only ate a couple of bites and had to run to the bathroom to throw up. He didn't have health insurance though. I was reminded of my patient at my last job. She sometimes vomited in the day when being fed but not at night when I snuck her food.
JF, there is a time when it truly becomes the duty of family members and friends to bear the burdens, if any, of providing the sickly, dying patient the properties of support in this difficult time and they should not assume such support is fully coming from members of the medical profession "managing" the patient's care. In good ethical medicine, it is the medical professionals duty to find and encourage friends and family members to provide this service that only these people can provide.
..Maurice.
The subject of family member advocates during surgical procedures always comes up. Every nurse, anesthesiologist is totally against it because you will get in the way, faint cause problems,get in close, hover. So why exactly are film crews allowed to tape TV shows? Botched and Skin Tight are what stands out the most. Certainly those crews could do just everything they claim a family member would, eso to get that perfect close up shot. So, its OK if you are going to be on TV, but not if the patient wants family protection?
Cat
JF
Dr B. In my brother's case the vomiting is what I'm suspicious about. The elderly woman was actually deprived of food. Nobody who lived with my brother would have treated him like that. The patient vomited sometimes with her meals even though she obviously wanted those meals. She didn't vomit at night though. Was it her medicine that was making her vomit? And was it HIS medicine making him vomit? Did he die of Cancer or did Hospice cut years from his life?
cat, I've never seen those shows that you mentioned but the difference between them and the real world is likely that the doctors involved are getting paid big bucks by the producers to allow film crews in.
Not sure if they still make them or not, but the shows that truly crossed the line are the ER type ones where the film crews are there as trauma patients are stripped and treated. The hospitals someone justified that as OK given the episode wouldn't broadcast unless the patient consented after the fact. They ignored the fact that mixed gender film crews were present and filming as patients were stripped and treated, and of course all of the editing crew and others that would also see the footage whether it was ever broadcast or not. I would sue everyone in sight if that ever happened to me in an ER.
Good Evening All.
Happy Thanksgiving to all that celebrate.
Biker, I suspect reality filming in the ER was stopped after New York-Presbyterian Hospital had to pay a $2.2 million penalty to federal regulators for allowing TV crews to film two patients without their consent. One who was dying, & the other who was in significant distress.
Regards to all.
NTT
The problem is once you are under their care you are the property of that facility and you have no rights and try to get a lawyer to take that case and you won’t find one that will be willing to go up against the arsenal of lawyers they keep on retainer
Jeff
NTT. I guess the moral of the story is " the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" The problem is that is who or whatever causes them to fall will have to be even BIGGER!
JF speaking.
Not every impact of my sister's false diagnosis of having Cancer is a negative impact. I went to help her out in Arkansas and was with her there for 3 months and was able to get to know her little grandkids she is raising. Then we came back to Florida and another set of grandkids came and joined us. The two sets of kids barely knew each other at all but now they're all more like siblings.
She came here to get more aggressive care for her Cancer because her Arkansas doctor dropped her when she told him she wouldn't take anymore Chemotherapy. Then her Florida doctor discovered she didn't have Cancer. I was still living with her until we learned that and we'd go visit our sick brother.
I've been back home now since mid July.
JF is still talking.
Since we've come back to Florida we've been doing a lot of visiting. My granddaughter saved us $2000 in Sea World tickets because she works there so we had a family reunion there and family came from out of state also. We had only been here for a few days at that point. In the 5 months since I came all the way home we've visited and my grandniece and grandnephews bring me so much joy when I see their love for me in their faces. At Thanksgiving we went there and the little dog was so overjoyed and I took him for a walk
(half running ) my grandniece came with us.
So I have to say God can bring good out of ANY horrible thing. My sister bought a car from my brother who was dying but let him keep it until he died. I guess I have gotten off of our patient dignity issue a little bit.
JF speaking
You people are really quiet. Maybe nobody has had any bad experiences recently. Even though my sister doesn't have Cancer, she had it in 2007 and had some surgery then and her surgeon left instruments inside of her. Now nerves have attached themselves to the instruments and they can't be removed. She has to get surgery for her kidneys every 4 months or she could still die. She can't take any court action though because of the time lapse, but she wasn't aware of them being there until her Cancer scare. She still has nobody to take her kids if she does. I'd be willing but I'm 63 now and Diabetic. When she still believed she had Cancer she cried one day and said she now understands how people could kill themselves and their kids.
My heart goes out to the medical providers of today! They are being placed in an unmanageable position of patient to care giver ratios and I think that quite often when they violate a patient’s dignity it is not necessarily intentional but it is still inexcusable. I think the blame needs to be placed on the administrators who create this environment that won’t allow implementation of trauma informed care because of time constraints
TIME IS MONEY!!!!!!!!
Jeff
JF
Jeff. I feel sad for the doctors and medical providers who want to do their jobs in the best possible way but are told by higher ups how to do the job. I don't know how accurate it is but I read somewhere that a significant number of them are getting tired of it and quitting much sooner than what they had planned. Insurance and Big Pharma telling them what to do.
Good evening:
What they might want to try, is taking the bean counter out of the executive suite & replace them with an MD to see if down in the trenches where the pressure to perform is greatest is eased somewhat.
Regards,
NTT
The problem of physician shortages has been evident in small town/rural America for years. For example, the nearest hospital to the south of me (1+ hours to get there) recently went a couple years without a dermatologist because they simply couldn't recruit one. My local hospital spent several years trying to recruit a urologist. Until very recently the local hospital borrowed a nephrologist 2+ hours away to come down 1 day a week to see patients and otherwise used her on a consulting basis in-between time.
I too have read reports of Baby Boomer physicians retiring or saying that they will retire sooner than they might have on account of how the MBA's in the corporate suite over-managing them and as a result of being squeezed ever further by low Medicare & Medicaid reimbursements. The shortages those of us in rural areas have lived with for years may well be coming to urban/suburban areas.
Nursing and other staffing shortages are also plaguing the healthcare system.
Another piece of this is the population of the US rises by 2 or 3 million each year and the population is aging but Residency slots have been relatively static for many years. That very much adds to the shortages.
This staffing squeeze does not bode well for patient dignity. It is all too easy for patient privacy to become out of sight out of mind to harried healthcare staff.
the problem with physician shortages is GREED, plain and simple.
most of a resident's salary is funded by the united states government. this funding emanated from the formation of medicare in 1965.
in 2022 congress establishes policies to distribute 1,000 new medicare-funded physician residency slots to qualifying hospitals, phasing in 200 slots per year over five years. cms estimates that funding for the additional residency slots will total approximately $1.8 billion over the next 10 years. this is the largest increase in medicare-funded residency slots in over 25 years.
prior to the establishment of medicare, residents would work for the hospital but they were paid very little and would generally live in the hospital, thus the term "resident." they would rarely get time off but they would usually be fed and have their uniforms and malpractice insurance premiums paid for by the hospital.
since the hospitals are making money on the resident's labor, perhaps they should contribute more to resident salaries. as there are more medical students graduating each year than there are residency slots available to them, perhaps it is time to refigure the graduate medical education funding to help alleviate the physician shortages.
i have no problem with public funding of graduate medical education, but the following needs to be implemented regardless of who funds residencies:
in the public interest, certain policies need to be implemented, metrics met, and if not profits, (executive and managerial) salaries and bonuses should be capped. the first duty should be to the patient (not the shareholder) and vendor contracts need to be scrutinized (so as not to funnel profits, salaries, and bonuses to non-care-providing entities).
full financial transparency needs to be implemented.
the patient (or their designee) becomes the director of care, the attending advises them and implements their decision. all others involved with the care of the patient answer to the attending. management coordinates care, resources, personnel, and gets involved with the care when those providing care are not doing their job.
consent needs to be ongoing, explicit, (not blanketed, boilerplate, etc.) for every member participating in or observing patient care, and there needs to be more criminal liability for violations of consent and human dignity.
because providers have BENEFITED from practicing on real patients in their education, a system to identify past and present providers needs to be put in place, and students (at every level) are prioritized in participation of their care.
as a conditional of license renewal, providers at the level of nurse and above must demonstrate their ability to train the next generation by participating in a formal training process of medical students.
-- banterings
JF speaking
I also think part of the problems are intimidation. All those years ago ( in 2007 ) my sister had instruments sewed up inside of her. There would have probably been multiple people around. Why didn't anybody speak up? We're they by any chance afraid of the surgeon?
Banterings, you presented a definitely worth while commentary of current medical practice and its potential implications to the general issue of patient care, maintenance of patient dignity and the attention needed for those starting out on that professional occupational path. Do you look to the United States government to take a even more active role in how the medical profession is carried out in the United States? ..Maurice.
How about our government and the medical system supporting more and more care via
"telehealth" ?
https://telehealth.hhs.gov/patients/understanding-telehealth
Would that improve the doctor or nurse-patient relationship? And improve patient dignity in that relationship? ..Maurice
Dr. Bernstein, I accept that telehealth is a wonderful option for a segment of the population for whom transportation or other constraints make in-person visits difficult to do, yet need some degree of monitoring nonetheless. I've done a couple covid-protocol telehealth visits and found them lacking myself, no different than doing board or similar meetings via Zoom not being quite the same as in-person meetings. If anything telehealth will detract from the patient-caregiver relationship, no different than talking to a friend on the phone isn't as good as seeing them in person. It is as well very limited in that it can only be used for discussion-only visits rather than examinations, and it is the examinations part where the dignity aspect comes in for most of us.
There is another potential downside to this which is the thoroughness of the visit. Last January I had a routine annual appt. for which bloodwork was done in advance and for which I already had seen the results on my patient portal. The results were all good and didn't pose anything that needed to be discussed. Being in the midst of a snowstorm which would turn my normal 1.5 hour drive through the mountains into maybe double that (and the risk of an uncontrollable skid by me or someone else going down a mountain or around a curve, I could have cancelled or called and asked to be switched to a telehealth call. I didn't want to make more work for them at the last minute and so just left extra early. For you warm climate folks, in Northern New England, life doesn't stop just because it is snowing. My in-person visit included the routine blood pressure & heart rate check which a telehealth visit wouldn't have, and that check surfaced a heart problem that got me admitted and a cardiac ablation. Had I done a telehealth visit instead that heart problem would not have been discovered until I had a heart attack or stroke.
So given the option of in-person or telehealth, I opt for in-person.
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/prejudiced-patient/2014-06
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/mayo-clinics-5-step-policy-responding-bias-incidents/2019-06
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-should-physicians-respond-when-patients-distrust-them-because-their-gender/2017-04
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/prejudiced-patient/2014-06
I think the above articles can clearly show the medical community does not care about patient autonomy. Many do not believe, (i.e. Mayo article) that patients have the right to same gender care although the court system says differently. Reverse discrimination is also a right issue as it is labeled wrong for a white person wanting a "person who looks like them to deliver their care" while at the same time there is an explosion of articles stating non-white people are calling for more "who look like them" to deliver their care. (Use Google to find these articles.) One article infers that asking for a medical provider whose language you can clearly understand is wrong while not addressing the obvious--not being able to understand is clearly a matter of patient safety.
The entitlement attitude the medical society has over patients is horrifying. They truly believe patients must accept whatever a medical provider wants to do to them. They say there are professionals but yet everyday we read articles of those who were not "professional" via sexual abuse or the murdering of patients but yet the cries in Congress are to protect medical workers from patients. Where is the outrage over patient harm? Where is the right of having say over who touches your body? When a woman declines to have sex with a man, is it still not rape if he didn't like her excuse. For that matter, what does an excuse have to be given. When did saying "No" cease to be enough? We know that medical providers do not leave their personal biases and characteristics at the door. In the summer of 2020, I saw nurses in uniform protesting and a few were doing violence against cops. I wonder if they were able to leave their personal biases at the door when treating a cop injured in the riots? I have read about nurses and doctors who get "even" with what they label as a "difficult" patient. Asking for same gender care may get a secret label/note attached to your MRs. Why must the patient leave their values at the door when clearly medical providers are not.
Most all hospitals print a Patient Bill of Rights but few uphold those rights especially when a patient has a complaint. Shouldn't protecting the patient from all types of harm such as unnecessary exposure be a top priority? With allowing patients to be unnecessarily exposed, it allows greater opportunity for those who want to sexually patients bc no one notices bc patients are routinely unnecessarily naked.
By pushing certain narratives, the medical community conditions people into thinking they are bad people for asking for a different provider than assigned. Why does the medical community believe that bullying/coercing patients is normal?
I doubt anyone will comment because this post is a taboo subject but I felt it is worth the effort to put it out for discussion.
JF
Biker, Not me. They can gloss over your symptoms in person just as easily as over the phone. I just think we should get as educated about prevention as possible. And do everything possible to not have to rely on.them.
Because they dont think of it as unnecessary exposure. They dont think its wrong to just lift the entire sheet to check incisions that are at the bellybutton as in lap surgery. Patients are stillout of it and under memory loss drugs, so why not. If a.family member was around this wouldn't happen. As soon as my husband came to recovery i would put a towel over his genitals so they wouldn't unnecessary expose him. They are so against family members being around that you really need to wonder what their ulterior motives are.
Cat
JF, I realize that doctors can gloss over symptoms in person just as easily as via telehealth, but in my example, it was an MA routinely taking my blood pressure and heart rate before I saw the doctor that surfaced a heart problem that I didn't know I had. It wouldn't have occurred via telehealth, nor was it anything vague that might be glossed over. I was told by a cardiologist afterwards when I inquired about one of the readings that was off the chart in the many tests subsequently done that I was in congestive heart failure, yet I didn't know it.
JR, nothing in those articles you posted surprised me. Most are more concerned for the staff & student's feelings & rights than the patient's. Mayo's policy is especially dismissive of patient gender preference issues. They seem to not even recognize it isn't a function of the patient's perception of staff qualifications or professional demeanor but rather embarrassment and comfort. Yet I have no doubt that many who work at Mayo have gender preferences themselves when they are the patient.
I will add something else that the healthcare system won't acknowledge. This is that maintaining a professional demeanor and performing their duties in a clinical fashion is not synonymous with them being asexual and non-judgmental; good, bad, or indifferent.
telehealth is just a more efficient way to do healthcare that does nothing. i have personally seen instances of this. one, the doc does a phone call for the annual medicare wellness visit, the other was gender care that was being done way too often without any benefit.
not only is healthcare the largest sector of the economy ($1 out of every $5 of gdp), but also the largest lobbying group. probably larger after the pandemic. speaking of which, the medical industrial complex is trying to use the same techniques of the pandemic to continue their drunken gluttony of profits. remember how monkey pox was a pandemic? now we have rsv/flu/covid triple-demic.
in mexico (and the rest of the world), most of the pharmaceuticals that are prescription in the us are otc. that is the way that it should be.
as for government getting involved, healthcare exists within our society. society can regulate healthcare and if they do not take the carrot, then it is the stick (government). i would rather that healthcare voluntarily create an environment where the patient directs care, but if they refuse and keep trying to stick to their paternalistic model, then market forces (the rise of corporate medicine) or government will intervene.
-- banterings
I wanted to respond to JR’s post that mirrors my thoughts. I can’t remember if I already posted this story but here it goes anyway. I had to have colon surgery and after reading up on what is involved I found that it would require a catheter which freaked me out. When I asked the surgeon about this he stumbled on the response and it was clear that he was not going to reveal this to me. His effort to calm my concerns was to tell me that they would put it in once I was asleep and it could be removed in 24 hrs. Needless to say that didn’t help at all because being asleep doesn’t mean it didn’t happen and I didn’t care if it was in for 24hrs or 24 minutes it’s the placement and removal that concerned me. I also found out after reading my post op records that once they knocked me out they brought in a young woman in training to practice on me under the supervision of an instructor. I was never asked for consent to be a test dummy but once you are out you become their property and lose all rights.
The next day when it was time for the catheter to come out a female nurse entered the room with 2 female students and declared to me what she would be doing and I told her that I didn’t feel comfortable with two young girls standing there watching and I wanted them to leave. I think at this point she realized that she never asked me if I minded which is a breach of protocol. At this point she was noticeably rattled and asked the girls to leave. I than noticed a change in her demeanor to one of anger at that point she exposed me which caused extreme embarrassment and a feeling of humiliation. She started draining the fluid from the catheter balloon and then started pulling on the tube with no movement. She then began pulling harder and broke it free from my bladder only to have it lock up in my urethra with extreme pain she than continued to rip and tear the catheter through the entire length of my urethra. Once it was out and the pain subsided I thought everything was ok but it wasn’t. They had given me an abdominal nerve block for the surgery which numbed that whole region. It wasn’t until I got home and that nerve block wore off (they last 72hrs)that I started feeling intense pain in my penis and this ultimately landed me in a urologist office. The bottom line is she did extensive damage to my urethra and now I have to spend the rest of my life with urethral strictures. But the story doesn’t end there a few years later I was told that I needed aortic valve replacement and I remembered thinking here we go again I know I have already posted about the horrible things I suffered with that but the sake of this experience I’ll stick to the story at hand. I had a male nurse remove my catheter (my request) and as I watched him remove the fluid I noticed that he removed over twice the amount of fluid that she did and I have since found out that the fluid put in is always the same because it comes in a prefilled sterile syringe with 10 cc’s at that point it was clear what she had done to me was intentional and I guess she was paying me back for embarrassing her in front of those students. That is just pure evil!!!
So when I hear all the concerns over violence towards medical professionals that door swings both ways and I’m living proof of that.
They are not above injuring patients if you piss them off. And there was no way I could ever prove what she did to me
Even with the psychologist that I see regularly I don’t know if I will ever be free of the PTSD that I suffer because of the sheer volume of trauma that has been perpetrated on me
Jeff
My hubby recorded a show called awake surgery. Its a plastic surgeon who doesnt use sedation or GA. The ads showed, liposuction, tummy tucks, skin removal. Im very interested in watching these procedures and how they can help the patients. Should more surgeons learn to specialize in awake surgery?
Cat
The relationship of "awake surgery" to providing maintenance of patient dignity is a worthy topic to discuss on this blog thread related to patient dignity preservation.
Rather than quickly jump to some video on your computer, it would be of value to dive into the written details of this operative practice.
Here is the link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3812739/
It could well be a practice, if practiced properly, that many of the visitors to this blog thread would find of value. ..Maurice.
Dr. Bernstein, the studies that they are doing concerning "awake" surgery are interesting, though limited to a kind of surgery that few of us will ever experience. Perhaps the research will lead to additional applications.
I think the areas that many patients would be interested in having more options in is with the use of amnesiac sedation that seems to serve the interests of the healthcare staff rather than the patient, and which carries some degree of risk for the patient, especially as we age. Technically the patient is awake, but in the context of what has long been discussed here, they are not.
Many patients could easily have colonoscopies w/o sedation but it isn't offered. Only those of us who request it get the choice, and even then some are denied. Is it really necessary to give patients an amnesiac in order to prep them for a cath lab procedure? Or other surgeries? Certainly some patients don't want to know how they are prepped or treated during procedures, and that is understandable, but currently patients aren't offered the option. Why? I think because the staff can ignore the patient's privacy, usually for their own convenience but sometimes there are other motives.
Cat,
Cindy, Misty and I have been talking about "awake surgery" for a long time. For it to be done, the medical staff has to be comfortable with their skills. This means not only their medical skills but how the actually respect the patient. Unfortunately, many are not. They want the patient "out" so the patient cannot remember all the secret events that take place like how they unnecessary expose the patient and all the small that is done sometimes at the patient's expense. Europe is very progressive and has done "awake surgeries" for years. Many cardiac procedures such as stenting is done without the powerful sedation given here in US. You have to wonder why keep their rituals secret is more important than the health of the patient. It is true that not all patients would want this but many would. As we age , sedation affects the overall recovery and health of people along with the extending the recovery time from the side effects of sedation. Why does the US medical system not truly believe in what is best for the patient? Sadly, it goes back to all the power and control we have turned over to them in the past years. We need to take back our rights and make those Patient Bill of Rights true and not just false advertising. Patients need to organize and become as strong as the medical lobby for that is the only way to bring about the needed changes.
JR I don’t know if you read my post about my experience with having my first catheter some how it got posted in some previous post back around December 15th but it is a perfect example of what can be done to you under sedation. It shows what can be done to you under sedation and then what they can be willing to do if you make them angry
Jeff
Jeff,
I did read your story. The majority of them also seem to believe they own you once you enter their facility so no consent is needed as they believe it is implied. Also, many females believe male patients should experience pain in the treatment of anything penis related. Some do it because they believe men are babies about penis pain and enjoy the discomfort they can cause. This has become especially the case in the last 5 or so years. Some females nurses know they have power over male patients and act out their social justice agenda.
They also believe it is the duty of every patient to be used as a learning tool because after all, you are not a human being but an object. They literally can do anything they want to most patients who have been sedated. The overwhelming majority will not remember but there are a few like Cindy and my husband who will. The thing many people do not realize is that while the events are happening, you experience them in real time although you may not realize it later. You may experience the fear but sometimes that fear may be magnified because of the sedation's ability to stop you from reacting. The sedation made Cindy very hyper and angry while it made my husband feel as though he was bound and gagged. Many of those who don't have the vivid memories may go through life with this nagging feeling of something horrible happened to them but they cannot identify what it is.
Medical retribution is a real thing. There was an article a while back abt a medical student or resident (don't recall which) who was ticked off a man refused to use her pronouns so she stuck him with needle several times while taking blood. She later got on social media to brag about doing so. I have read other accounts of medical providers getting even with patients because of various imagined infractions. The sense of medical providers being entitled to control and have power over patients never stop. We truly will never know all the personally biased observations they write about us in our MRs so their biases follow us throughout our medical journey. The myth they sell us about leaving their personal feelings at the door has been busted over and over again but still it doesn't make much of a difference to the majority of people which makes getting medical care very dangerous.
If you would like to come on our radio show, please let me know. The more real stories that are told, the more likely change may happen. If people remain silent, it only helps the medical community to continue to harm patients by acts of medical assault, sexual abuse and retribution. Dr. B. can give you my email if you would like to talk about this further or if anyone else would like to tell their story. If you don't want to use any identifying information, we are fine with that because we know medical retribution is real.
JR Thanks for your response. I would love to talk to you about all I have been through. It seams like I have a sign on my back that says kick me.
Jeff
Good morning:
Jeff, I feel for you. You’ve been thru a lot. Here’s the problem. We don't have like-minded people in congress that will put the needs of the patient ahead of the healthcare system.
I spent month talking to elected officials in DC & I can say without question, we are not going to get any help from the current group of people there.
This group is bought & paid for by the healthcare system & will do whatever they are told.
What the healthcare system refuses to accept is today’s patient is an informed patient unlike the past when you went to the doctor, they told you what to do & you did it without question.
Today’s patient has doctor Google on their side which gives them a powerful weapon to offset what we are told by the medical community.
We’re more informed & today more than ever before, people want to know more details that the medical community is used to giving out when they talk to patients.
JR is correct. It’s well pass time the medical community drop their veil of secrecy & talk openly about everything.
The american healthcare system is at the forefront of technological changes.
Where they fail, is at the patient level.
They're fighting change on this level because they don’t want to lose some of the aces they are holding like amnesiac drugs. If they couldn’t use them all the time, they’d have to at least act professional most of the time. Those drugs are their get out of jail free cards.
Again, like JR said, they want patients (especially males), to give up all right to their dignity & privacy when they walk thru the doors. They want patients to be their guinea pigs.
It’s well past time the American healthcare system started asking the people they take care of for their thoughts & incorporate them in their thinking process when it comes to how to do the things they need do & at the same time protect their patient’s dignity & privacy while keeping them safe.
Sure, they send out a survey to patients via Press Ganey but as we all know, there are a lot of important questions missing on that survey. Personally, I think they are left off deliberately so they don’t have to act on them.
Today’s informed consent form is woefully inadequate & should be thrown out & redone with direct input from patients & the healthcare system. Worst part is they made the form electronic so as to make it harder for the patient to make changes.
It’s time for the people to take back their healthcare system & the medical community to make all the changes necessary for the system to function for everyone not just women & girls.
If the people really want this, they are going to have to do their part or it will NEVER happen.
I know, the healthcare system has bought off this congress by way of the political contributions (aka bribes).
Without like-minded people in congress, we will never be able to force the healthcare system to change.
We have within our possession one very powerful tool which few people ever use to bring about change.
That tool, is the power of our vote.
If your elected officials won’t work with the people to bring about changes then vote them out in favor of someone who will. If we don’t pressure them by threatening to vote them out, they will side with the healthcare system.
Case in point, getting unauthorized exams on unconscious men & women on the operating table stopped was done by telling representatives you want to keep your cushiony job get this change done & they did. Threaten to take away their cushiony job, & they WILL listen.
The time for change is now.
The more people that use the power of their vote to bring about change, the faster change will come.
I’ve said enough for now. It’s time for me to get back to the phones & try to get things changed.
Best regards all.
NTT.
NTT great commentary and I think the greatest weapon they have in their arsenal is the use of memory robbing drugs that patients are only told that it is something that will help them relax. All patients should be made fully aware of what this type of drug will do to them and let the patient decide. It is the only place on earth that you can administer a date rape drug to an unsuspecting person without informed consent. Anywhere else that would be considered criminal. I’ve had my memory stripped from me many times now but I have this nagging suspicion that although you can’t remember what was done to you, are all those experiences some how stored in your subconscious mind and just eat at you like a cancer? If this were true do you think the medical community would care?
Also JR I sent Dr. B an email about contact information but I haven’t heard back yet
Jeff
We have all had nurses tell us we don't know what we are talking about. They get defensive because they know WE speak the truth. They try to say look at surgical videos on YouTube, the patient is completely draped during surgery and only the surgical site is exposed. I went on to say how come you omitted the part about the gown comes off after we are asleep, leaving us naked while the prep is applied and having to dry for 3 minutes? Go ahead and lie and say we are covered then? Guess what her reply was.. if you said she didnt reply, youd be correct. They think protecting bodily dignity is waiting for us to be asleep. Far from it. We are being stripped of our dignity once we are asleep, not protected. Just once i wish a nurse would say. Ya know what...i totally see your point and want to work on this. Ive heard some students being appalled and what theyve seen, but never act on changing it. Some report being treated the same way we describe, but never make changes in themselves. Unfortunately, i dont think enough people will ever speak up and demand to be treated with dignity and respect. All we can do is protect ourselves and hope our healthcare staff learn from us. I really want to askmy husbands gastro why did he have to bring up no sedation and boxers backwards, why isnt that a standard option for his patients, since he has absolutely no problem with either. He could be part of the change we need. People dont realize we have options or ask the right questions and they certainly dont offer them. Cat
Your exactly right Cat that’s why they need the drugs so they can perpetuate the lies
Jeff
Jeff,
I have not seen anything info from Dr. B. yet.
Also, for all those interested, if you do a Google search on unnecessary cardiac procedures in Indiana, you will find there are 2 different doctor/doctor groups under investigation. You have to wonder how many patients suffer unnecessary procedures/treatments especially if they are admitted through ER as the medical community can use this as the reasoning to hurry treatment. I know this because this is what happened to my husband. Medicare patients are more likely to be exploited just as they are more likely to be abused during treatment. We know sedation allows them to control patients. We also know that many times sedation is not necessary for the patient but rather necessary for the medical provider in order not to have to deal with the patient. How does having unnecessary procedures affect patient dignity? One man said he was wanting to avoid medical treatment and/or die.
I am not sure what topic being discussed here I have been ignoring. What I thought was an appropriate consideration was the process of "awake surgery" which is detailed in the following government publication:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3812739/
I never was a surgeon or participated in operating rooms except when I was an intern in Philadelphia General Hospital.
Read the article addressed above and specifically discuss here the "good" and the "bad" of what was being suggested by the United States government.
..Maurice
p.s. Jeff, I don't recall getting an e-mail from you. Why not write again or better write your concerns here as you are already doing. If you write me email make the title of the email to contain an identification that the message is from "Jeff".
Hello Dr. Bernstein,
I perused the article you referenced re awake surgery. The article seemed to be concerned mainly with awake brain surgery. I wasn't aware of anyone asking re awake brain surgery. Maybe, I missed those posts. Nevertheless, I believe there have been a few posts re the use of propofol. The article was instructive on this account.
The standard protocol today seemns to be to inform the patient re all the possible negative outcomes of the proposed procedure, usually including death (a cya statement). However, never in my experience, has an anesthesiologist informed me of the possible negative outcomes of propofol. Why do anesthesiologists get a pass re informed consent with their drugs? I've copied what the article mentions re propofol with [ ];s I inserted with Googled descriptions. Wow! See below.
Reginald
Anesthetics
• Propofol has a rapid onset of action and is quickly removed from the bloodstream by redistribution and metabolism; this means that the level of anesthesia or sedation can change rapidly. Nevertheless, propofol can lead to respiratory depression. It should also be noted that propofol interacts with gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors, leading, at low dosages, to central nervous system hyperactivity with movements mimicking tonic-clonic seizures. Propofol also has a neuroprotective action, probably mediated by its antioxidant properties which may play a role in apoptosis [programmed cell death – Google] , ischemia-reperfusion injury [damage caused when blood supply returns to tissue after a period of ischemia or lack of oxygen- Google], and inflammation-induced neuronal injury.
• Narcotics: remifentanyl seems to be the most appropriate narcotic during awake surgery because of its rapid onset, rapid half-life and lack of accumulation even after prolonged infusion. Remifentanyl can lead to muscle rigidity, postoperative shivering, a low risk of postoperative agitation and seizures ( Grønlykke et al., 2008), and bradycardia.
In conclusion, various different anesthesia protocols and drugs can be used in intraoperative mapping, but the two basic factors for obtaining an optimal result are good patient selection and good communication between the awake surgery team members."
Biker, I hope you are in good spirits despite what must be the difficult weather in your northeastern part of the country. What I wondered was how medical management was carried out in this difficult weather. You have mentioned in normal weather long drives to your or your neighbors needed clinical service. What happens when your area is highly covered with ice and snow. ..Maurice.
Dr. Bernstein, it wasn't too bad where I live, at least not like it was in Western NY. The solitary road over the mountain to the rest of town from the valley hamlet I live in wasn't driveable (too steep & with sharp curves) due to ice accumulation. In a medical emergency necessitating an ambulance, it would just have to take a longer loop that would bring them down the valley itself. A delay for sure, but am ambulance would still come.
The nearest level 1 trauma hospital is where I go in NH for all of my scheduled care. It is 1.5 hours away on dry roads, and can be double that in a snowstorm. That hospital operates life flight helicopters for VT & NH, but they can't operate in a storm like that. Thus under some conditions, the local hospital ER may be all that is available. The local hospital has most of the basics but one thing I know that they don't have is a cath lab.
Staffing-wise, hospitals can never close and will hold employees over as needed if others can't make it in, and as needed police or non-medical hospital staff can be dispatched to pick up hospital staff at their homes that either haven't been plowed out or otherwise can't drive themselves.
The bottom line is sometimes what most people take for granted, including healthcare options, simply might not be available under certain conditions. A major storm is not the time to have a heart attack or be in a major accident.
Here is a question I don't recall asking here which deals with the maintenance of patient dignity and/or perhaps the dignity of the physician.
Should a physician at the bedside or office pray along with their patient if asked by the patient to do so?
Should a physician initiate prayer and request the patient join him/her in prayer?
Where do you find the issue of prayer in the doctor (or nurse)-patient (or patient's family) relationship in the practice of medicine. ..Maurice. p.s.-excuse me if I had brought this topic up previously here.
Should doctors pray with patients? Any staff person who is right with God ( or are trying to be ) Could be praying with or for a patient. But a large number doesn't know how to The most common mistake is focusing on the request more than on God. Repeating the request over and over in the same prayer is another mistake a lot of people make. God isn't deaf. We also are supposed to listen to God while praying and thank Him for blessings.
A lot of prayers don't seem to be answered because we don't see any evidence that our prayers are heard and stop praying to soon. All of life's problems are spiritual. And even with the most evil people around it's the case that " We wrestle not with flesh and blood !"
Thanks for the "reminder" response to my last comment..but there was no identification of the writer of that posting. Please, please identify yourself with your pseudonym. Such identification makes the posting more valuable. ..Maurice.
From my perspective is I would love to have a doctor or nurse pray with me or for me. But I am a devout Christian and believe in the power of prayer.not so much for others that are nonbelievers so it would be difficult for a medical provider to broach the subject unless it was already made clear to them by the patient that they have a belief in God and prayer.
I feel that if there were more believers in medicine it would benefit the patients ability to have their dignity preserved in a way that serves their moral beliefs and not expect them to compromise their most intimate parts. Like I’ve said before you can’t read about restrictions of females performing catheters on male patients in the Bible but you also can’t find where it is wrong to hack a computer! You have to pass all modern day actions through the filter of God’s moral precepts and principles and for me there is a very clear path to follow. Jeff
Sorry Dr B. That was me. JF
Jeff.
I think in one of the Books of Moses it talks about father's aren't supposed to see their daughters naked ( I'm sure that doesn't include babies and toddlers ) brothers aren't supposed to
" humble" their sisters. I haven't read the Books of Moses anytime recently so I don't recall if it's talked about female family members seeing male family members. But our "more than a prophet Ellen White talked about males shouldn't attend to nude or exposed females in a medical situation. She also said that females should refuse to look at a males "secret " parts and she included female doctors in on that.
She said by avoiding that from happening a door that Satan desires to enter is closed. JF
JF you are absolutely correct and it is worth noting that pharaoh king of Egypt in exodus 2 was well aware of who to approach when he had concerns about the growing population of male Hebrew’s being born. He instructed the midwives (females) to kill all the male babies being born. Clearly even he knew that men did not perform this task. And in Deuteronmy 25:11 it speaks of a woman (wife) of a man trying to rescue her husband who is being attacked by another man that if she were to grab that man’s genitals that her hand was to be cut off! Nothing in this passage forbids her from helping her husband she is just not allowed to touch his genitals. It is interesting to note that her touching his genitals was not for sexual reasons much the same as the claim that medical personnel use when touching the opposite sex intimately but according to the Bible it is not allowed for any reason outside of marriage. There are many more passages that I won’t mention because I’m starting to sound a little preachy. Jeff
I was born at the Washington sanitarium and hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland. It is an Adventist hospital. About a year ago a light bulb went off in my head when it struck me for the first time that I was delivered by a female doctor! At that moment I realized why my mother went to Maryland to have me when we lived in Arlington Virginia. My mother was not willing to give up her purity and virtue to the care of a male gynecologist. In this day and age that would be easy to accomplish because over 60% of OB/GYN’s are now female and the numbers are growing I have read that 93%that are presently in medical school are female in 1970 only 7% were female. Imagine how few there were in 1954 when I was born . My mother obviously looked long and hard to find her. They have multiple women’s clinics in the Washington DC area that are for women by women that cover primary care, cardiology, OB/Gynecology breast specialist, dermatology. It’s like a 1 stop shop and a woman never has to be viewed or touched by a man. I am thankful for women that women have finally received relief from the indignities that have been shoved down their throats for so many years . Men on the other hand have lost ground. Men were typically treated by male physicians and orderlies for intimate care but starting in the 1970,s with the onset of managed care and corporate greed men got thrown to the wolves and are now serviced by nurses that are 90to 95% female. There are clear reasons for the double standards but for me they are unfair and and because of what I have been forced to endure I suffer from PTSD and the medical community couldn’t care less. Jeff
we need to start directing and dictating our healthcare. my friend gets her hrt without doing any blood work because she was victimized by nurses with iv's and needles in the past.
she gets away with this invoking her rights under the americans with disabilities act. she also identifies as a protected class (transgender and abuse survivor) which frightens providers from the get go.
our society has justified the abuse of white men with an excuse of some white supremacy and institutional racism. they fuel this thinking with assertions such as math is racist and the
firing of an organic chemistry professor because students claimed his class was too hard (note: the students were not coming to class, reading the material, doing the work, etc.).
maybe it is just me, but i kind'a think that physicians should be good at math and organic chemistry...
i digress.
no patient is safe, but white males have a target on them.
as the new house of representatives takes power, they will be investigating everything related to covid and the people who pushed vaccines, and the weak medical providers that lied or did not stand up for the truth.
this will destroy what little trust remains with healthcare. hopefully there will be legislation putting in control of their healthcare encounters.
we are already seeing this in not only the belief that childhood vaccines should have exemptions, but many are avoiding vaccines.
even more a sign of things changing Florida Supreme Court approves DeSantis’ petition for mRNA COVID vaccine grand jury.
-- bantings
banterings, I don't doubt but that the new House will do some public, and possibly embarrassing investigations, but rarely do congressional investigations result in legislative changes. Elected and appointed politicians come and go. They make a lot of noise and do get their way on some things but the real power lies with the entrenched bureaucrats that write the regulations, control where most of the funding actually goes, decide what they are going to enforce or not enforce, and drag their feet or throw up obstacles as they choose against directives that they don't agree with. The most telling proof of this in the modern era was the last Administration that never got control of the federal bureaucracy.
Currently that entrenched bureaucracy at the federal level and in more States than not consists primarily of people that are never going to see male patients as being the equal of female patients. It does not fit their belief structure. Nor is the entrenched bureaucracy going to take any steps to address the gender imbalance in healthcare staffing, except in MD ranks where men dominate such as in urology. The recent year shift towards significantly more women going into urology residencies is celebrated as a win for women as is the increasing dominance of female MD's in certain other MD specialties (OB/GYN, dermatology, pediatricians). Boys and men do not matter to the bureaucracy.
It is for these reasons that I don't hold out much hope for govt.-directed change as concerns patient privacy and dignity matters, so long as men are hesitant to speak up. The few of us that do can effect change one doctor or hospital at a time, but not enough of us are doing so.
Jeff,
I find it interesting that you were delivered by a female ob/gyn. What year were you born in?
I did not hear that much about babies being delivered by a female ob/gyn before the 1990s.
I am so glad that there are so many female ob/gyns today and that male ob/gyns are decreasing.
Misty
I wanted to encourage everyone to read the below two articles:
1) Informed Consent and Consent Forms – A Cautionary Tale
2) “Implied Consent”
Misty
Misty
I was born in 1954 how my mother was able to find a female OB/GYN is beyond me considering no internet and the lack of availability
I have been following that gentleman’s story or more appropriately nightmare and I can relate to the amount of pain and anguish he has suffered. I to have been subjected to their humiliating and traumatizing way of doing business.
He fought this long and hard and although he didn’t get the results he was looking for I feel he did make an impact. They weren’t willing to concede wrong doing to him because they never do. But I think a lot was said behind closed doors out of his ear shot.
I have to say that I am impressed with his fortitude he fought the good fight and more of us need to do the same
I am meeting my attorney next week to draft up my advanced directives it will either protect me or have me barred from the facility Jeff
My husband is going in for his unsedated colonoscopy next week. I really wish i could go with him. I told him do not sign any consent regarding sedation, do not let them insert an IV. They will use that consent as giving them permission to give it, if they see fit. Not. If the patient sees they need it. Plus, if they start the IV its harder to fight the bill saying you werent sedated. No IV they couldn't possibly have given you anything. Cat
Interesting articles Misty. I've never had any kind of orthopedic surgery and wouldn't have guessed that a knee replacement involved shaving & prepping the groin area. While I understand the hospital's stance that providing that level of informed consent was not necessary, the fact that the Resident that did the surgery outright lied about who shaved & prepped the groin is totally unacceptable.
Hello Cat,
Have your husband refuse the back-of-hand cannula. This is the port through which the IV can be inserted. If there is no cannula, there is no possibility for IV sedation. His refusal of the cannula will be noted in his chart and, will assist you in showing that he was not sedated. Get a note from his doc before the procedure indicating that he is not being sedated. This will assist you when the nursing staff "insists" that the cannula be placed "just in case". Wave the doc's note at them to stop their insistence. Remember, the doc's word is law to them. You may also want to read my article on Misty's site. I wish you both success and a healthful medical outcome.
Reginald
cat, I have had 4 colonoscopies w/o sedation but in each case I did allow them to prepare the IV "just in case" I found myself in pain and changed my mind. I figured it was a fair compromise in that they'd still need my permission to sedate me.
You would know if they did sedate him simply on the basis of how long it takes. When mine are done, I just get up, get dressed, and leave. With sedation they have to wait for you to fully come to, which takes a while.
Biker,
I suspect that the Trump republicans will make changes. They will show the depravity of the medical industrial complex and public bureaucrats and officials. Just look at the latest Twitter papers and how big pharma pushed for censorship.
On the liberal side, BLM, Antifa, etc. will "peacefully" demonstrate against those who harm LGBT, women, and minorities. (Unfortunately white and/or male is not a protected class.)
The end solution needs to make the profession of healthcare fear patients and society's reprisals for not behaving in a way that is expected.
As we grow older, we do not notice the gradual changes until one day we look in the mirror and realize that we are old and gray. The same too, we do not see the changes in the profession of medicine, but I assure you that it is changing to remove the power from providers and put it in the hands of patients.
-- Banterings
A nurse said in all her years.. blah blah blah she has never seen or heard anything SHE THOUGHT was disrespectful towards a patient. She hit the nail on the head. THEY dont THINK its disrespectful. Everyone has their own thoughts on whats disrespectful. What she finds disrespectful, i might not have any problems with it. I wonder how many of these staff members have a problem with transgenders going into the womens bathroom? Would they have a problem with a male reporter going into the womens locker room after a professional soccar game? After all many women think its ok for a female reporter to go into mens locker rooms. I dont think its ok btw. Would any of them be ok with overhearing aomeone talking about how small that mans junk is and theyd feel sorry for whoever that guys partner is, they must not be satisfied. Meanwhile they are the partner. Most likely not. Cat
Cat don’t forget they don’t think or talk that way because they are professionals. Unlike us frail humans that have weaknesses and have a hard time looking at a naked person and not take notice.
They receive that special switch that they can turn on and off at will any lust or sexual thoughts . There is way too much documentation out there that proves that magical switch doesn’t exist. Jeff
If one wants to see how complicit the profession of medicine has become with the medical industrial complex, just look what they are doing to our children:
Let us start with the the harms to children as the Covid vaccine is pushed on them. Florida is convening a Grand Jury to investigate crimes and wrongdoing related to COVID vaccines.
We know that former FDA commissioner, CNBC contributor and current Pfizer Director Dr. Scott Gottlieb pressured Twitter to censor tweets critical of COVID-19 vaccines and former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson.
The American Academy of Pediatrics issues Its first comprehensive guideline on children'd obesity:
Children struggling with obesity should be treated early and aggressively, including with medications for kids as young as 12 and surgery for those as young as 13.
Then there is the issue of transgender children... Many institutions push how lucrative have people transitioning. Many of these institutions have put out notices to their providers to "push" these services.
Here is one such news report about an institution's own people talking about how lucrative gender affirming surgeries and treatments are. One national provider called trans-identifying children cash cows.
This is going to bite the profession of medicine.
-- Banterings
Cat,
That nurse was LYING.To certain of the staff the patients are the lowest of low of human life . To even some of the nicer staffing they just receive child status. JF
Good evening.
Bantering I don't see this congress putting forth any type of legislation that would give the patients a leg up on them.
It's just not going to happen. This congress is bought & paid for by the healthcare system. The bribes they pay congress to do their bidding come to them in the form of what they call campaign contributions.
Until a lawyer or law firm has the time, patients, & resources to take a case against healthcare from start to verdict & win, nothing really will change.
I've spoken with many in DC & they want nothing to do with helping men. Not even to get an ofc. of men's health up & running in the federal government.
Until we can get this issue out of cyberspace & into the real world, they will continue to ignore us.
I followed Misty's links & read that gentleman's blog from the beginning. He should talk to a newspaper reporter or maybe 60 minutes. He's make a good case against the system.
What po's me most is, many doctors know, men have been shafted by the system & won't do anything to help us.
That's all I have. We'll just keep trying to find a way in.
Best regards,
NTT
NTT.... this is one reason why id love to be able to talk to my husband's gastro. This will be his 2nd colonoscopy. The first one was done the " normal" way. Sedation, nothing on etc etc. After he had it done and i did more resesrch on it, i told hubby about it. Fast forward 3 years and its time for his next one. I begged my husband to talk to the doc about the boxers backwards. He also needs to drive himself home so he wanted to talk to him about no sedation. His doc said he gets his without and itsnot a big deal. He does several a month without. He has a different technique to make it less uncomfortable. I also told hubby to ask him if he could take anything for cramping prior to. His doc was impressed with my research and is giving him a antispasm med to take. So. What id love to sit down with him about is WHY isnt this an option he gives ALL his patients. WHY did my hubby have to ask him? Maybe more people would get colonoscopies if they knew they had these options. Medical staff is supposed to heal us not kill us. Cat
Good morning all:
Cat, your husband's gastroenterologist is most likely using a pediatric scope to do the test. It's smaller than the adult version & if the user has experience using it they can maneuver the turns in the colon easier which in turn gives the patient less pain.
The reason they don't offer options to patients is simple.
Using sedation means more money for the the practice & a compliant patient for when they want you to turn over or lay still. It's also a cash cow for them & the more they get in the more they make.
In SNE they won't do the test without sedation & you're not allowed to bring colonoscopy shorts, Covr medical garments, or wear the boxers backwards for the test.
It's a racket. They want people to get tested but, they want it all done their way.
Have a good day everyone.
Best regards,
NTT
The old maxim "follow the money" applies to healthcare too. Cat, I suspect the answer is as simple as they get to bill more if they sedate colonoscopy patients. The repercussions for colonoscopy patients may be generally minor but as banterings points out, now for young teens being quickly shuffled into transgender affirmation treatments, the repercussions are potentially permanent and life-destroying for those kids that truly weren't transgender, but with lots of money to be made, it is expanding rapidly, aided by political correctness eager to fund it.
I agree with banterings that all sorts of covid fraud and malfeasance is going to unfold this year, but the damage is already done. I was one of the people that eagerly awaited the vaccine that first year and followed all the protocols that the "experts" pronounced, in part to protect my wife that had been seriously ill with sepsis as the pandemic unfolded. That said, even then I knew that much of what was happening was absurd. How could the medical community in NY State and all those public health officials with their masters degrees and Phd's have concluded that it was safe to send covid-infected patients into nursing homes, and then keep doing it even after the results were disasterous? Because Gov. Cuomo, the media darling with endless accolades that we needed his leadership at a national level, said so. Meanwhile cross the border into VT and you'd find the lowest covid death rate in the nation and nursing homes locked down tight, yet nobody outside of VT was interested in what were we doing that garnered such good results. Was it because Cuomo had a D with his name and Gov. Scott in VT an R? Possibly.
We'll see if 2023 brings any accountability and learning so as not to repeat the same mistakes the next time around.
Biker
Our assisted living home was on a strict lockdown to. But still staff had to go home at the end of our shift. All it took was a staffer to come to work infected. Once in the building it spread like wildfire. Every single patient got it.
Much of the staff to I was off for 3 weeks because my family wouldn't let me come home until it could be proven that I didn't have it anymore. (because of kids living here.)
17 patients died in that time. JF
Banterings,
Don't forget the push to put many, many children on statins. Can you imagine the gravy train recurring revenue from this? Don't forget there is no real data of what lasting side effects the mrna vaccines will have on kids. The medical mafia will really profit from a lifetime of issues from those vaxxed kids.
On American Medicine Today, Dr. Salvatore Giorgianni, Jr. talked a little bit how the healthcare system has failed men. Dr. Giorgianni is with
https://healthymen.org/about-hmi/. I wonder if he would be receptive to the discussions we have had here abt how the healthcare sees patients especially men as objects they can treat however they want and say the are doing no harm.
There was a recent article abt a middle-school girl who was stripped search for contraband but they found none.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-8th-grader-strip-searched-vape-pen-school-lawsuit-alleges
Even though the minor girl consented, she is traumatized by the event much like patients are but no one is willing to sue for this. We consent for surgery but we do not consent for unnecessary exposure that the medical society says is done because they are professionals but yet they want most patients unconscious while they violate their bodily privacy. Professional what?--predators?
Dr. B Why are you unwilling (even angry sounding) to pass along my contact info to Jeff? We are doing what you said to do by trying to get the word out there instead of just complaining and doing nothing.
Jeff You can direct message me through Twitter @Rights4Patients. Cindy and I would love to talk to you abt your experiences.
JR, I couldn't find that discussion with Dr. Giorgianni. Is there a specific link? Thanks. It is an extreme rarity that anyone in the healthcare system would advocate for male patient dignity.
I had read about that Middle School girl being strip searched for a vape pen (which she didn't have) and it was shocking that such a thing could still happen today. Technically she consented but it was under duress under threat that the school officials were going to forcibly remove her clothes, and she took them off herself while crying and protesting. The whole thing sounds horrific. If that were my daughter I'd be pushing for criminal prosecution and I'd sue those individuals, school officials, and the school board. I suspect the girl now feels not unlike a rape victim.
Biker,
It is a program called American Medicine Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb9gNuy5ewo
This is a link to the interview. Giorgianni says to the effect that men don't go to the doctor bc they feel "uncomfortable, unwelcome," etc. He and a couple others started a program called Healthy Men Inc. I think that it would be a positive thing for the men on this blog (along with us wives) to email them telling why it is important that male patients' bodily dignity is respected. The whole system is setup to make men feel victimized and to gain complete control over them. I just wonder if Healthy Men will really want to address how patient dignity is addressed?
As for the middle school girl, she was a minor so there is that thing of whether her consent was legal. A 14 yr old girl may consent to have sex with an eighteen year old but it is still illegal. Sadly, they gave this young girl a lifetime of now living with a traumatic sexual encounter which will mentally scar her forever.
As you know, you may consent for a medical exam but how it is done is the issue and you don't consent to being made into a sexual abuse episode which happens far too often. In consenting for medical treatments, we do no give explicit consent for unnecessary exposure which many on this blog have suffered and have been left with the realization that have been sexually violated.
Cindy and I are doing one of our upcoming radio shows on how fentanyl allows the sexual abuse of patients. Many patients do not realize they are unnecessarily exposed or even sexually violated when they are sedated. Most do not realize that fentanyl is used to gain control of the patient and is also severely overused. We have better control over what happens in an office visit but still many are victims of the deer in the headlights scenario which the medical community relies on to happen. With all the stories of sexual assault/abuse happening, the medical community must take serious steps to stop it by discontinuing the routine stripping and unnecessary exposure of patients. They must cease labeling patients as objects who have no right to bodily privacy because they believe they are gods who have the right to strip or view every patient in the nude. Of course, we have done numerous shows on how versed is used to erase from the patient's memory how sexually inappropriately the medical staff acted.
Hello,
The 8th grade girl's search is an indication of individuals drunk with power. Please read the following from a 2009 SCOTUS case. The last sentence is telling - " But an administrator who conducts a similar search in the future will be liable for his actions."(This was 13 yrs ago. Do they ever learn?) One person writing in response to this Ohio incident quipped, "Just write the check!" Hopefully, this youngster will be compensated in the millions. However, as we all know, the emotional trauma will remain for life. No amount of money will erase the pain.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2009-06-25/supreme-court-rules-strip-search-of-8th-grader-was-illegal
Reginald
JR I sent a tweet but I’ve never tweeted before so I don’t know if it went through?
Jeff
JR... they deny it happens. They say of course exposure is necessary to do a complete evaluation. How can you get someone to change what they dont even see something exists? The only way i see it stopping is by the patient saying no to the intimate exam, or going through with it on OUR terms, not theirs. Also, by not consenting to particular drugs. If they cant give them to people who are allergic, there is obviously alternatives. They say we are fear mongering. How can we go against the " professionals"? They know all. We are just meer pions. How many future patients have you gotten to understand what unnecessary exposure is? How many are going are actually going to put a stop to it during their exams? One woman was saying how she was embarrassed walking into a scan room with the flimsy gown and her butt was showing. I mentioned that if they can give you a scan wih the gown on there is no reason why you cant keep cotton underwear on as well. At least that covers you there. Ive seen male xrays, unfortunately you see everything on the films, very clearly. So, next time this lady goes for a scan hopefully shell tell them nope these stay on. I only see the change coming is by each patient standing up for themselves. THEN maybe the staff will take the hint, cause they certainly wont take the initiative.
Sorry. The last post is from Cat
Jeff,
I have not seen anything from you.
Cat,
We don't take surveys but our numbers are growing and we have a wide audience area. Of course, intimate exams should be done on our terms because we are the owners of our bodies and medical providers are there to provide a service to us. I do not allow service people to have free run of my house or car so why would I think a medical provider should have free use/access to my body? The real issue is many violations occur after sedation. We can control if we want how they treat us while we are conscious. Everyone should have a very Advanced Directive stating what drugs they refuse and how they must be treated as far as dignity issues are concerned.
There was a great article by a doctor a few years ago abt reducing the use of fentanyl bc there are alternatives. So there are alternatives but we must first educate ourselves bc we know they do not want us educated. We know the use of fentanyl and versed in pre-op is what allows them to sexually abuse patients. We also know it is possible to give them a list of drugs we are allergic to so why not drugs we do not want? When I take my Lexus in for an oil change, I tell them do not use drum oil and that I want synthetic oil. I tell them to make sure they do not mess up the interior and they are responsible to protect it. Of course, this is when I do not take it to a Lexus dealership bc most Lexus dealerships are like the medical communities who serve the rich and generally they deal with rich patients differently than they deal with us. The question I ask people is why do they take less care in protecting their body than they do their car, house, property, etc? My body is my property.
As for the woman in the flimsy gown, why did she not take the initiative to make sure her butt was covered? In Europe, the female patient is allowed to manipulate her own breast for imaging. Also, in Europe, patients are not drugged into oblivion for procedures like cardiac cath. In Japan, they are questioning the long term harm done to people over the years by sedation. Everywhere process is being made except in the US where the medical community is still allowed to be ran like a cartel.
To paraphrase what the attorney for the middle school girl said is that we do not leave our rights at the door but unfortunately some people believe they must so yes, we must change the public's perception of what is acceptable. That is what Cindy and I are doing. It is a slow process to alter years of brainwashing from the medical community but if there is one positive that came out of the covid fiasco is that the public now has seen that the medical community does lie and manipulate facts and situations. We just need to keep expanding on that. With the potential of Congress now looking into Fauci, this will only help.
Reginald,
So true and our US medical system is also drunk with power. Unfortunately, they do not seem to ever learn. Like with the consent laws, they have found ways to circumvent them. If they would put that much effort into not harming patients, we would severely reduce patient harm but they do seem to see patient harm as bringing them recurring revenue. If a patient is traumatized by sexual abuse by a medical provider, their answer to that is to go to therapy and get on mental health drugs==recurring revenue.
JR
As a person who has worked at nursing homes and assisted living homes since I was 23 I can tell you that whatever is documented on the paperwork/books that we fill out is legally recognized as fact in court. That being said there's plenty of care documented that never actually happened. Maybe there should be a large number of court cases proving that to be true. It isn't safe for staff to admit to not being able to get everything done. The supervisors don't want to hear it.
JF
JF,
Unfortunately, I know from firsthand experience what you said is the truth. I was told by CMS/Livanta the same: patients lie and only what is in the medical record is to be believed unless it is a blaring lie like in my husband's case of a 67 yr old biological male giving birth. Then it was a mistake which I should have overlooked. You can see how even the medical cartel controls the government.
Despite CMS recognizing my husband did not consent, they did nothing about it nor did anyone else. If you are medically harmed, you are just that--harmed forever and no one cares. You cannot find an attorney willing to take the case so there is no danger of the court system making changes. Medical cartel knows this and that is why they have continued to lie in medical records. While some staff might take responsibility for their actions, many would not and those are the ones who will bully and coerce the others to remain silent. Of course, administrators don't want to know bc everything is about profit for them. In the US, our medical cartel seems to believe and practice that one unmentioned side effect of seeking medical care is the patient being harmed and not by leaving in a sponge, etc. but by how the system itself acts toward the patient. However, it is my opinion if you remain silent, you are accepting the epidemic that is patient harm.
Jeff,
Was nice hearing from you.
I would like to make a comment about medical records. I don’t know if I brought this up already. there are quite a few errors in my medical records but the most disturbing is the omissions. This is one that almost makes me laugh because it shows the willingness to lie about anything
I was in the hospital for 6 days after my heart surgery and because of my modesty I refused to ask for assistance using the bathroom. I had 2 chest tubes in me that were draining into two different collection devices. The pain I felt getting out of bed with that chest wound was unbelievable and then having to carry those two collection canisters with me to the bathroom was an ordeal but I did it All by myself.
When I got home and retrieved my records I read an accurate accounting of my bowel movements color, consistency, volume.
No one but me ever saw my bowel movements
If they will lie about poop what won’t they lie about?
Jeff
Good evening.
Looks like they're pushing OR video recording again.
https://www.ormanagement.net/Feature/Article/12-22/Get-Ready-Routine-OR-Video-Recording-Gaining-Steam/68845?sub=&enl=true&dgid=&pos=1
This is going to be a nightmare for patients so I hope people take a stand against it. There's only so much they can do to hide your identity.
For instance, if the patient is physically handicapped, they can't hide that no matter how hard they try.
There should be only one copy & that copy should go to the patient but we know the American Medical cartel will insist they keep or get a copy of the video for teaching purposes.
Big headache coming.
Best regards,
NTT.
My hubby had his colonoscopy yesterday. A couple of things. This was done at a different facility then his 1st one. For that one he was sedated and given 1 gown to wear, so anything could have happened. As an example, i asked him if he needed to fart before they released him, he said no. I said everything ive read said you need to fart. They did but thanks to versed, that was done before his memory came back. This one.... every nurse asked him 3x no anesthesia? They were in shock that somebody didnt want it. He didnt want an IV started and fought against it, but in the end had to have it. I will be very surprised if we arent charged for sedation. He did sign allowing students, since he was going to be awake and would know how many were there. None were... its either no fun when the patient is awake and you cant give rectal exams or nobody was interested in watching how to do an awake procedure. This facility he was given 2 gowns ( so already he wasnt going to be exposed if sedated anyway) one to wear butt open the other to wear front open. When the nurse moved his gown to bare his butt she laughed because shes never seen underwear with the butt cut out before. He said give this an option to people and i bet youd see it daily. Though he also said he felt less vulnerable with the 2 gowns. Next a receptionist just walks into the procedure room to talk to the doc mid procedure. Hellooooo.... totally uncalled for. So, if they do this while you are awake, what happens when you arent? All in all he felt respected except for the receptionist. I would like him to report that. If he does or not is up to him. He didnt think it was that big of a deal not having sedation and will always do withour. Unpleasant but bearable as he says. Cat
I am not in favor of OR videoing w/o the express consent of the patients (as in not buried in a generic consent form). My primary issue is security. No matter how much the hospital says the recordings will be secure, everything gets hacked if someone wants to hack it bad enough.
In theory the patient would be better assured of being treated in a respectful manner but my impression from the article NTT referenced is that the filming is only of the surgery itself and not the prep or the cleanup. Prep and cleanup is where violations of patient privacy and dignity primarily occur, so I'm not seeing much of an upside for the patient here even if the filming was secure.
I wanted to encourage everyone to watch this episode on Dr. Phil show: Groomed and Deceived by White Coat Predators that discusses sexual abuse by doctors. I admire Jon Vaugn's courage in speaking up about the abuse he endured. It is very hard for men to speak up about abuse they have endured. He did not even know the unnecessary prostate / genital exams were abuse until he was much older. He was young when he endured abuse under guise of medical care.
One of the guests on the show was Gaby Vasquez, a former medical assistant of Dr. Heaps Even when chaperones employed by the doctors report abuse they risk losing their jobs. Most chaperones are not brave like Gaby. This is why other medical professionals will rarely report abuse or wrongdoing. The advocate needs to be someone who is not employed by the doctor or medical facility.
I also encourage you all to look at a gynecologist who recently got in trouble: Dr. William Moore
Misty
I watched the show and was so pleased to see something like this on national television. Things like this can move the needle. Now it is up to everyone to keep their foot on the accelerator
Jeff
I don't get how so many are saying it isn't about sexual gratification. Of course it is. It isn't ALWAYS about sexual gratification and when it is it isn't just ONLY about it. I guess I'll end my little speech for now. JF
I think is is about sexual gratification but not in the usual sense. It is borne out of a sick mind that definitely involves power and control but the sexual element is there by the the fact of the area of the body they have chosen to violate and in doing so if they receive any type of gratification their actions are sexual
Jeff
I think men aren’t in as big a spot light in regards to sexual assault because the women that assault men are not necessarily interested in having sex with their male patients in that setting but it is more about the power that they feel when they know that the man is feeling degraded, humiliated and embarrassed. The unnecessary exposure that female nurses do constantly on male patients is not easily identified as sexual assault but is explained away as medical necessity. If men don’t speak up nothing will ever change
Jeff
Good evening:
Jeff.
The United States Healthcare cartel will always deny this so they don't have to deal with it.
There currently exists TWO standards of care withing our medical cartel because the system is currently so female centric that they don't want to upset the ladies because they KNOW the ladies won't stay quiet for long.
The gold standard for females & a rust standard for males.
Now. If a cartel member violates a female patient's dignity and/or respect & she complains, the system will roll over frontwards & backwards & do whatever they have to, to make her happy. Mind you all she has to do is complain to a supervisor & they will move heaven & earth for her.
Depending on the violation, the remedy could be as simple as an apology from the offender & that person doesn't deal with her anymore while she's in the hospital.
Or, it could be as serious as a criminal offense & the offender is fired & charged by the police.
In this case she's offered money to sign a non-disclosure agreement so the facility can save face in the public eye.
Now let's look at male patients.
If a cartel member violates a male patient's dignity and/or respect & he complains (99.9% of the time it's a female cartel member), the system will just tell him, it's the cost of getting medical care in the United States.
This happens for offenses like;
Making uncalled for comments about the patient's physical appearance in front of them or to others.
Leaving doors & curtains open while undertaking intimate patient care.
Deliberately leaving the patient intimately exposed so other can see when there is no reason for it.
Verbally embarrassing & humiliating the patient.
Don't kid yourself. & don't let cartel members tell you your full of it, because it doesn't happen. It does happen on a regular basis & they know it, & mgmt. just overlooks it.
The only time that changes is if the male patient has irrefutable proof or his statements are backed up by a cartel member willing to say what they saw & heard.
Something that rarely happens today.
If the offense is egregious enough to warrant notifying the local authorities & the patient has the evidence to prove his charge they will try sweet talking him out of taking it any further. They'll have the offender apologize then move them to another location.
If it gets this far the male patient usually accepts the apology & moves on.
That is a HUGE mistake. That is the biggest reason why they keep treating men the way they do.
Men keep backing down, so they don't have to make ANY changes.
If you have proof, talk to a lawyer FIRST & drag the facility thru the mud in their town of business.
We have to warn men that chances are extremely high that their dignity & respect will be IGNORED by medical cartel members. So, they should be prepared to put up, shut up, & get thru it asap or be ready to use your voice & stop the proceeding & walk out & tell people what happened to you.
I have warned my state senators that if I don't see "real" progress on men's health protections before the next election I will let my male friends know they are against men & not to vote for them.
They are trading men's lives for the almighty dollar on a daily basis & it MUST STOP!
What irks me most are the male doctors that make statements that males are the underserved population in the American healthcare cartel then do NOTHING within the system to help bring the issue into the light & fix it.
Best regards.
NTT
Jeff
Some of the men who post here have talked about writing letters to administration and being ignored. Others have complained directly to the doctor only to be told that they are the only male patient ever to complain in all his years of practice. Maybe some kind of receipt for letters written. If the complaints aren't being passed on somebody needs to be accountable.
We wonder how many patients avoid needed care for long periods of time because of the dignity violations. Male and female patients but males more. JF
So.. in terms of patient dignity, what do you find as the importance of hospital gowns. Does anyone find the gowns too short but also even too long or wide which requires doctors or nursing staff an obligation to unwind the gown from the patient?
From today's Quora:
PK Powell
Former Business Consultant and Advocate Jan 15
Hospital gowns are used to cover up patients who have to undress for medical procedures, examinations or hospitalizations. They provide ease of access of medical personnel to patients’ bodies and are relatively easy to change for bedridden patients.
For patients, they are typically unmanageable and difficult to navigate. They open in the back and often leave people unnecessarily exposed. The ties are positioned so they are difficult if not impossible to reach and secure. They could easily be better designed but that would add to overhead. Medical people should also offer all ambulatory patients a second gown to be worn like a robe.
Many people find them embarrassing and demeaning and use of gowns discourages patients from seeking elective medical care. This seems to be of no concern to hospital administrators or healthcare workers.
Lately they seem to have gone from being too skimpy to being too large. Last time I used one I had to wrap it around me three times and it was a dangerous tripping hazard. The nurse literally had to roll me around and unwrap me before the colonoscopy. At least she had a good laugh.
..Maurice.
The whole gown thing is a joke from start to finish. Is the reason for giving you the gown to protect your dignity and modesty??? What is the point when in a matter of moments they are going to give you drugs and strip you naked in front of a crowd of strangers and never tell you this will and did happen. Without your knowledge or expressed consent this would be classified as sexual assault anywhere else
Jeff
PK Powell is one of my followers on Quora and stands up for men's medical rights. He told me his story of harm. I would add to what he said that gowns are also a way of controlling patients by taking away their identity by giving by giving them a flimsy gown while the medical staff dresses in uniform. This is also done to prisoners. In the UK, patients are offered pants to wear while the US medical system likes to have its patients exposed which mean an easier subdued patient.
Jeff,
If you have read any abt the Idaho murder suspect, they said most likely he got a sexual high from the stabbing of those victims much like many medical staff get a high (from the control of or abuse) from patients. Whereas male medical staff may physically, sexually act I do believe the female staff get their highs from being able to control what has always been labeled as the stronger sex. Think abt the abuse many of the female staff members believe they suffer from male doctors and who is better to abuse than a helpless male patient? It is sexual but not always physical. They hide the abuse information from patients by labeling it unimportant and the patient does not need to know. You have to press them on what will happen and still I bet many of them won't tell the truth although some doctors may not know how the female staff is treating patients in pre and post op.
NTT,
Wonderful post! Though it may take many female victims, they usually take female patients complaints of sexual abuse more seriously. However, for both sexes, they do not believe a harm should feel harmed by being unnecessarily exposed bc they do seem to believe they have ownerships rights and use over a patient's body. Many victims of sexual crimes feel ashamed and I think this is especially true of male victims. I know my husband feels ashamed of what happened to him and it takes quite a bit of courage to talk about it to others. I believe that the shaming of male medical harm victims is one thing that keeps the harmed male patient quiet but they must speak up and out. I also agree abt the recording. We know most instances of unnecessary exposure occur during pre and post op when the patient is unable to defend themselves from attack. We also know that many hospitals already do recordings and that the patient will never have access to those. Remember in the consent form there is a clause you agree to saying they may record. I do believe that patients should be the ones recording the event and should be the only ones with a copy and it should also include pre and post op so the patient can see how they were treated when they were defenseless.
The medical mafia/cartel in the US is probably the most powerful group we have. They control the politicians, the media, and the legal community. They have unlimited money and power which they are not afraid to use in order to keep the $$$$ rolling in along with the power. They hide behind a wall of being professional but that definition they spout is certainly different from the one I have. A professional does not intentionally expose a patient whether they are conscious or not and justify it with a demeaning explanation. They are supposed to safeguard our dignity and dignity should be defined from the patient's perspective.
They protect your dignity/modesty by waiting for you to be asleep. Please read the sarcasm. I found a comment on Quora not long ago from 2 yrs ago ( that i think JR was apart of), that a nurse wrote in response. That after lapascopic inguinal hernia repair they SQUEEZE your scrotum to disapate the gas. Is that why my husband came home with bruises? In this day and age there has to be a better way then squeezing a guys balls. Was that told to him? No. They pushed lapascopically surgery, never gave him the option of open with local or anything. She also said, lower abs, groins, genitals and upper thighs get prepped. Covr would have prevented the genital scrub. The ball squeeze is totally uncalled for. Cat
Hello,
The following is from today's JAMA. With between 1/4 and 1/2 million ED errors resulting in disability or death, the authors (Jonathan A. Edlow, MD and Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD) are asking for change. Is their any hope for male dignity?
"JAMA. Published online January 27, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.0577
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) commissioned a systematic review of diagnostic errors in the emergency department (ED) that was conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Evidence-Based Practice Center and released on December 15, 2022.1 Few will read the entire 744-page document. However, most will read the eye-catching finding: “With 130 million U.S. ED visits, estimated rates for diagnostic error (5.7%), misdiagnosis-related harms (2.0%), and serious misdiagnosis-related harms (0.3%) could translate to more than 7 million errors, 2.5 million harms, and 350 000 patients suffering potentially preventable permanent disability or death.” "
Reginald
Good morning all
On a different note is there any entity that is a watchdog over nonprofit medical organizations? The facility that I have had multiple surgeries at has expanded to include multiple hospitals/ huge medical complexes and free standing clinics all over the region, and continues to grow.
This takes millions of dollars. Where is all this money coming from? Expansion at this rate would require a huge profit margin to achieve in the business world so how do they maintain this status? And wouldn’t this give them an unfair advantage over any competitor there by allowing them to monopolize the market and give them the ability to shove what ever protocol down a patient’s throat that they choose and dare you to say anything? Jeff
Jeff,
It is like that everywhere. Here in central Indiana, there are 4 hospital chains of which 3 of them have expanded all over the state and have taken over most smaller hospitals. The 4th one has expanded but not as much as the others. The one hospital where my husband was harmed is a multi-state hospital system. Also, many Catholic hospitals belong to a group called Ascension which is national. I have talked to legislators who say that whenever there is talk of legislation that the medical cartel feels would be negative towards them they will immediately have it squashed. No legislator wants to lose the medical cartel $$$$$ bc the business of elections is so expensive and who profits from that--mostly the media.
Reginald,
I communicate with a woman who was severely and permanently injured by ER care or really the lack of. Her injury date was a exactly a year later than my husbands so we have formed a friendship. She is highly educated in animal science and holds a doctorate. She went to an ER and knew what was wrong with her and even told them what tests needed to be done. You can imagine how enraged they were. They refused and even wrote in her file she was a mental case. They also wrote lies in her MRs such as she was on ED meds, etc. Because they delayed the vital treatment she needed bc they refused to do the tests, she is now permanently disabled unable to physically function. She has sued and is in malpractice case. Her first attorney suddenly dropped her after doing much of nothing. The new one has tried to pressure her into taking a settlement that the hospital system has offered by telling her if she turns it down, he will fire her and she will owe him money. He also said that going to trial is not going to happen unless she who has no money can come with $25,000 or more for at least 3 experts. Her attorneys have not protected her. She is a prior victim of rape. Her forced medical exams by the hospital system have been a nightmare for her. One forced her since she is not vaxxed to undress in the waiting room and the doctor examined her in the public hallway while the lawyer watched and did nothing. If she hadn't done it, the case would have been terminated bc she literally has no one on her side. The lawyers appear to be working for the large hospital system. On a footnote, the doctor who sexually abused her never filed his report so she wondered why and did some research and found he was in a serious auto accident shortly after the exam and has not been able to return to work. Seems like Karma intervened. Back to the settlement--lawyer #2 would take over $10K and lawyer #1 who fired her would then demand payment of around $30K (it is in the contract) so she would be in the hold for $20K. This is how malpractice works. She is not taking the settlement but sadly, she going out of the US for assisted suicide and has already sent in the paperwork for it. This is an example of how patient dignity is severely violated. This is a result of what the medical cartel has done. She is going to send me all her files so all the info can be made public including what large hospital system has caused this to happen. These are just some of the highlights of the case because there is so much more. She says to me all the time my husband was lucky in not pursuing his medical harm case because their objective is to destroy the patient who pursues some form of justice. She is not the only one who says this either. Most who have been through a malpractice case says the same. The patient is literally open season while the medical mafia team member is protected at every turn.
This comment has been removed by the author.
VOLUME 124 of Patient Dignity (Formerly Patient Modesty) has been established and can be accessed by going to
https://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2023/01/preserving-patient-dignity-formerly.html
NO FURTHER POSTINGS WILL BE REPRODUCED ON VOLUME 123. ..Maurice.
Again, the new (VOLUME 124) address is:
https://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2023/01/preserving-patient-dignity-formerly.html
NO FURTHER POSTINGS ON VOLUME 123. ..Maurice.
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