tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post6761736646633473917..comments2024-03-18T09:00:31.992-04:00Comments on Doctor Grumpy in the House: A day in the lifeGrumpy, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09858110332436246760noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-53188842659606814972012-01-04T16:38:03.572-05:002012-01-04T16:38:03.572-05:00Very sad. Especially that link regarding the woma...Very sad. Especially that link regarding the woman who lost her psychic powers due to a CT scan... We have a special court system with trained judges to deal with antitrust cases because business is too complicated for the average juror but somehow medicine is considered easily grasped by any average person? CrazyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-19795697854279796972011-12-20T02:23:56.680-05:002011-12-20T02:23:56.680-05:00Wow. That gave me a lump in my froat.Im a pharmaci...Wow. That gave me a lump in my froat.Im a pharmacist and carry my own malpractice on top of my employers. My coworker was sued recently by the relative of a dope fiend-er-chronic pain patient. They cited gross negligence. After the facts surfaced it was disclosed that the dope fiend died from an unrelated ailment...not a drug overdose.(By the way, why is it OUR fault if they take more than the doc prescribed and a tragedy occurs-even when we warn them about the very unforgiving nature of methadone.) My coworker is relieved but still I would say he is shell-shocked. I know he agonized and second guessed his actions. He scrutinizes every detail. In this case, the Jukebox was an Rx School law professor.secundum artemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-29474593848029332372011-12-14T10:11:14.552-05:002011-12-14T10:11:14.552-05:00I am about to start practice in Canada (after 8 ye...I am about to start practice in Canada (after 8 years of subspecialty training after medical school). Here, the CMPA (Canadian Medical Protective Association) is the main malpractice insurer for most physicians, and we are told that they NEVER settle, especially if what you've done is defensible. Because of that tenacity (and the overall Canadian mentality), the rate of lawsuits is quite low here. What we DO have to worry about, however, is a complaint to the College. Apparently, in a lawsuit, you are innocent until proven guilty. In a College complaint,you are guilty unless proven otherwise. And when there's a lawsuit, a College investigation is automatically initiated.<br /><br />Case in point that the CMPA people told us about at a dinner one night. New cardiac surgeon had just joined a practice. Most of his OR time was allocated for emergency cases. He saw a woman in the hospital, scheduled a surgery, which she postponed for personal reasons. She left the hospital, and had her surgery scheduled for 6 months later. He checked with his colleagues, and they were booked solid as well. She died of a massive MI before the OR, and the family sued. The family lost the lawsuit, but the surgeon was found to be negligent by the College, because they stated that he should have called CV surgeons in other provinces to find someone that could fit her in. Crazy, huh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-26119524507144502872011-12-12T10:12:03.118-05:002011-12-12T10:12:03.118-05:00To be honest, I'm a little surprised you HAVEN...To be honest, I'm a little surprised you HAVEN'T been sued yet. Of all of the medical malpractice suits I've heard about from friends or family, almost all of them seem to involve either a neurologist or an ER doc. You guys have a pretty rough time, trying to do the right thing and help make peoples' lives better.<br /><br />I'm sure there will eventually be a time where you sit back with Mrs. Grumpy and talk about remembering the good old days when you were sued, and wasn't that just so funny! Until then, best of luck. It doesn't take a fellow neurologist to figure out that you genuinely care about your patients and try to do everything you can for them. We'll all be thinking about you :)<br /><br />Now I have the Rainbow Connection on repeat...Jen Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02627948857260467381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-77368384893117408062011-12-11T23:36:45.253-05:002011-12-11T23:36:45.253-05:00My husband was not raised in the US and when he fo...My husband was not raised in the US and when he found about the medical malpractice issues here, I honestly don't think he believed me, "But, my love, that makes no sense. If someone works hard on your behalf, no matter what they may try to do for you, they can't possibly have full control over the outcome. It's one thing if they perform surgery drunk, but you can't take it out on the doctor if you don't like the outcome despite her best efforts." Then it happened to me and your description of the experience is remarkable...thanks for sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-82310538656074210962011-12-11T19:50:36.936-05:002011-12-11T19:50:36.936-05:00Thank you for writing this. I'm a pastor, and...Thank you for writing this. I'm a pastor, and often my discouragement mirrors yours for many, many reasons. Daily, I pour out my life for my church and for those in need, and generally the response is not doing enough or murmurs of wanting a different pastor. Don't get sued, just get extremely hurt in other ways.Christy Thomashttp://www.christythomas.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-44219466319389072192011-12-11T19:47:38.470-05:002011-12-11T19:47:38.470-05:00there is a published set of cases in my state (whi...there is a published set of cases in my state (which I happen to have read). It is about a diabetic patient who loses a limb and sues a hospital physician. When you read the first few lines, you think the patient has a gripe, but when you read all the documents, you discover that the patient sees numerous doctors, both for regular appointments and for emergencies. The patient repeatedly fails to follow directives, goes AWOL for months and years, does not take medications, nearly kills himself, gets life-threatening infections and does not get care until he has a zillion complications. After you read for awhile, you think that if the doctor is found responsible, there is no justice, because the doctor who is sued, ultimately, is an ER physician who sees this patient last, when the patient is already a huge mess. In this case, the doctor is absolved, but it left me wondering who the patient would see during his NEXT crisis, because from the case history, he seems like a perpetual crisis with no good outcome in sight.Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11823118794294237278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-11616395237781231372011-12-10T19:54:06.525-05:002011-12-10T19:54:06.525-05:00A year ago, I got completely reamed in a review th...A year ago, I got completely reamed in a review that came out of a complaint about the front desk at my clinic. They went crazy about tiny details, accused me of not providing some care I had clearly provided and documented, and made it quite clear that the mistakes I had made were clear evidence I should not be practicing. It was set up in a way designed to totally humiliate me and my clinic, and I think was not unrelated to contentious contract negotiations going on at the time. Because I had made some mistakes, I felt terrible about the whole thing. My boss, who was present for the whole thing, has been super supportive through the whole thing. I am generally well-respected in my community and have been given several awards for my care (including one the day after the scathing review, which I had a hard time accepting.) None-the-less, the only person whose opinion I can believe is the jerk who ripped me apart last year. <br /><br />To the person with the problem with the surgeon: I sympathize, truly I do. However, when you read through what Dr. Grumpy and others have been through, do you understand why the thought of a lawsuit terrified her so badly that she went into a completely defensive mode? I think she handled it poorly and that she increased her likelihood of a lawsuit. However, when faced with something like that, the fear becomes so great for many of us that rational action disappears.<br /><br />Right now, we have a system that requires superhuman effort on the part of the physicians to avoid errors (and believe me, most of us work hard to try to avoid them, but it is simply impossible to avoid all of them.) In addition, there is minimal monitoring, unless there is a complaint or a lawsuit, and then, too often, the response is something akin to using a nuclear bomb to get rid of mice in your garage. It's a system designed to leave a large number of physicians and other professionals an emotional wreck, and not at all designed to help patients get the best possible care.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-28349768756966590472011-12-10T15:08:28.548-05:002011-12-10T15:08:28.548-05:00Totally understand. I'm an architect. We get s...Totally understand. I'm an architect. We get sued for stupid crap, too. It's ridiculous. <br /><br />I have a friend who is combative and argumentative with her doctors to the point of screaming obscenities when she doesn't think they are doing what she thinks should be done. And then furious when they refuse to see her again. Really? I wouldn't see her either. She's a law suit waiting to happen and everyone knows it. But I guess those are the easy ones, huh? Just cut her loose.<br /><br />I feel for doctors. No one is perfect and doctors are not magic nor God. Things happen. Unless someone did something on purpose to make things worse, I'm assuming everyone is doing their best and hasn't discovered how to be all knowing.watercolordaisyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08918878832628412824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-65939926086950602432011-12-10T11:07:25.356-05:002011-12-10T11:07:25.356-05:00Several years ago, I developed an unexpected compl...Several years ago, I developed an unexpected complication following a procedure performed by my physician. There were two most obvious causes, 1) I had failed to follow one specific post-op instruction, 2) she had committed a surgical error. I told her I needed her help to fix my problem, and I valued her as a physician. She promptly accused me of being a non-compliant patient, wrote untrue statements in the medical record, ordered numerous tests in duplicate when the first set supported my claim that I'd been a compliant patient, told me my insurance wouldn't cover testing done elsewhere in an effort to do damage control (easily verified as a lie by both the second hospital and my insurance company), then stonewalled referral for a second opinion. The second opinion confirmed she'd committed a common surgical error.<br /><br />Do I think she's a bad physician? No. Do I think she deserves to go through the process you described? At this point, absolutely, because she's a rotten human being, which is why I contacted an attorney and told him I didn't want any damages for myself. I wanted any money won to go to his fees or to charity. My case, like so many, was for small damages, so she never faced a lawsuit. She did, however, receive a letter which will remain on file at the board of registration in our state forever. I'll never forgive her for what she did because among other things, she led me to believe early test results indicated I had a potentially fatal complication. On top of everything, I thought I was going to die, and had to potentially depend upon her to save me with emergency surgery.<br /><br />The majority of malpractice cases lie somewhere in between well-meaning physicians facing litigious, greedy patients and innocent patients harmed by substance-abusing physicians. Many cases are like mine. The fact is, I know my physician was scared I'd sue her, but I didn't consult an attorney until I saw she really didn't care about helping me, and obstructed my seeking help elsewhere. She cared about the big number one, herself, first.<br /><br />Not all physicians are ethical human beings. They're just as apt to CYA as any other human being when they make mistakes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-78316889832162526652011-12-10T01:55:48.488-05:002011-12-10T01:55:48.488-05:00Have also had my professional - and personal - lif...Have also had my professional - and personal - life hanging for years in legal debate. Different song for me, but same 'muse', and motivation.<br /><br />When you say, "I may not be rich, but at least I can look myself in the mirror", you've said it all. Money and reputation may come or go, but your honor belongs only to you. Thanks for sharing, Ibee. Too bad it's not required reading....rapnzl rnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-5233512978126765282011-12-09T18:27:56.913-05:002011-12-09T18:27:56.913-05:00"Rainbow Connection" is sung by Kermit a..."Rainbow Connection" is sung by Kermit and Miss Piggy in the new Muppet movie...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-66224467973549265882011-12-09T15:43:31.694-05:002011-12-09T15:43:31.694-05:00Your description of the trauma of being sued was s...Your description of the trauma of being sued was spot on. A partner was sued after a patient death. Physician was a brilliant guy, good doc, did nothing wrong, standard of care all the way. Five years of hell, made worse by the fact that doctors are told not to talk to ANYONE but their lawyer about the case. Evidence from autopsy presented at trial supported anaphylaxis. Jury found him not guilty. Patients family told him after trail that if they had known of the autopsy findings they would have never sued! Their attorney had not shared the results with them.<br />And the case where a physician clearly HAD committed malpractice, tried in a town where he had delivered half the population, found not guilty. <br />The system does one thing well, it enriches attorneys. Maybe two, it destroys physicians, and creates a barrier between them and their patients. But the isolation and vulnerability a physician experiences has got to be horrid. Nothing personal. Right. I say let the malpractice attorneys get up at 2 AM and take care of some abusive drunks who throw up on them. Nothing personal.burnttoastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-7659401345125389142011-12-09T14:09:00.683-05:002011-12-09T14:09:00.683-05:00My impression is that usually when people sue it&#...My impression is that usually when people sue it's primarily because they don't feel like the doctor cared enough or listened to them. (Not that I'm accusing you, Dr. Grumpy, of this.)<br /><br />While I've never had any reason to sue any doctor, I've had occasional experience feeling ignored or patronized. I can only imagine how I'd feel if something subsequently went terribly wrong. It comes down to the idea that if doctors want "non-doctors" to understand their human imperfections, they need to tone down the arrogance and present themselves as human.<br /><br />Again, not accusing you particularly of arrogance. (Really, you sound very much the opposite). I'm sorry a good doctor like you ends up feeling like your every move is questioned.<br />Maybe, in the U.S. at least, it's people's feelings of alienation and fear that have contributed to this problem. In any case, suing as a way to police doctors is a terrible system.<br /><br />Barbara P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-10123416315088362562011-12-09T12:12:29.655-05:002011-12-09T12:12:29.655-05:00If it helps, you should know that for every patien...If it helps, you should know that for every patient who does sue, there are many, many who do not, although they are pressured by relatives and friends to do so. I have had a couple of bad health experiences in my life - one in which a doc made a wrong decision that a 2nd opinion literally saved my life from - and I cannot believe how many times I was urged to call this or that one's "brother the personal injury lawyer," because "you've got a real case here." Luckily, most patients do realize the difference between a simple mistake (or judgement call) and genuine negligence. Sorry you went through that though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-33268706285141908082011-12-09T10:02:48.786-05:002011-12-09T10:02:48.786-05:00Great post, as usual.
Yikes. Hopefully, it doesn&...Great post, as usual.<br /><br />Yikes. Hopefully, it doesn't happen more than once to good doctors!<br /><br />I was surprised to learn that I should, as a medical transcriptionist, get E&O/liability insurance but it is frightening to discover that just doing excellent work isn't actually protection from bad things happening to someone -- and I can only imagine how much worse the consequences of legal action would be for physicians.<br /><br />By the way, is "Dr. Jukebox" your turn of phrase? I love it!Suzannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-21045780254334330442011-12-09T10:01:15.353-05:002011-12-09T10:01:15.353-05:00Been there, got the T-shirt. You couldn't hav...Been there, got the T-shirt. You couldn't have said it better. I still cringe 15 years later when I see a letter with a lawyer's letterhead in the mail, even though I know they are the usual request for records for diaability evals etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-84315956755750533942011-12-09T08:48:20.961-05:002011-12-09T08:48:20.961-05:00Robert at 4:12 PM:
The current system is run excl...Robert at 4:12 PM:<br /><br />The current system is run exclusively for the enrichment of the trial attorneys, not the benefit of patients.<br /><br />To participate in it as you suggest does not remove the bad apples, but serves to perpetuate a protection racket that is rotten from top to bottom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-75899006287361702352011-12-09T07:17:37.158-05:002011-12-09T07:17:37.158-05:00Very interesting post, thank you for that one. I h...Very interesting post, thank you for that one. I had a doctor that I was close to filing a complaint against for negligence (he got his ass covered just enough to stop it), and while this post doesn't change my opinion about that particular doctor at all, it definitely makes me appreciate the doctors I have now even more (Dr. Kickass and Dr. Fabulous, as I refer to them). While I've always appreciated how they treat me, and how stressful it must be for them to work such insanely long hours then go home wondering if every decision they made that day in terms of patient care was correct, I never really thought of the fear of being sued thrown on top of that. I definitely don't feel that they resent or fear me as a patient. 1 is a fairly new doctor so she probably hasn't been sued yet, but the other has been a doctor since before I was born, so it's quickly like she has been. As unbelievably horrible as it must be to be accused of malpractice, it is possible to past it and the fear or resentment it can bring up against patients and enjoy your work again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-13924228086495547152011-12-09T04:34:26.709-05:002011-12-09T04:34:26.709-05:00Just keep looking in that mirror and liking what y...Just keep looking in that mirror and liking what you see, dude!cliffintokyonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-38425425520241515032011-12-09T01:22:22.067-05:002011-12-09T01:22:22.067-05:00This is some powerful shit, thanks for sharing it ...This is some powerful shit, thanks for sharing it with us. Glad to see you drop some 4 letter words :)<br /><br />On a more serious note,<br /><br />Its only a matter of time before stuff like this happens to pharmacy. How many times have the pharmacists out there lay awake at night wondering if the one prescription you gave a glance to was really methotrexate 2.5 in a medroxyprogesterone 2.5 bottle? Or was the patient on warfarin when you filled that amioderone prescription?<br /><br />Its stressful. Really, all aspects of medicine is stressful, and as we work longer hours for less reimbursement; stuff like this is bound to happen no matter how well we try to prevent it.<br /><br />Regardless of what happens, you'll always get some dickhead pharmacist up there who hasn't worked retail a solid day in his life telling you that 20+ years of experience is dead-ass wrong. All for the tune of a $500/hr 'consultant' fee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-68405400884561999622011-12-09T00:49:23.640-05:002011-12-09T00:49:23.640-05:00I have never commented before, but this touched me...I have never commented before, but this touched me. I once had a doctor who prescribed a medicine in too high a dose because his thoughts (it seemed) were elsewhere. I had a seizure because of this, knocked my head on the kitchen floor in the fall and got a concussion. <br /><br />I noticed that my doc was wearing a hospital bracelet from the nursery. I suppose his wife had just had a baby. <br /><br />I was a bit perturbed, but I decided NOT to sue, even though the ER Doc said I ought to. When I got a letter from the practice saying he had been fired,I figured the guy had already been through enough at that point,losing his job right after having a baby, and I wasn't dead or seriously injured. Maybe he had already been punished enough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-16108049721328514542011-12-08T23:36:08.011-05:002011-12-08T23:36:08.011-05:00Sounds like the divorce I am going through. You t...Sounds like the divorce I am going through. You think it is something that happens to other people and not you. It carries on forever, leaves you financially drained, it is life changing and you wonder if you are going to survive and come out on the other side alive. You question yourself and recounting a million times what happened. The whole thing feels like shit and leaves you with anxiety.<br /><br />I identified with your emotions going through a life changing experience. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be a Dr. and get sued.<br /><br />Thank you for your well written perspective. It sounds like it was Hell to go through, but left you with a completely different perspective. I also think it is great that you have your "go-to" song that helps you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-86966138028905394722011-12-08T23:18:14.120-05:002011-12-08T23:18:14.120-05:00"The people on the jury deciding your fate ar...<i>"The people on the jury deciding your fate aren't medical people."</i><br /><br />From my limited experience, that's not just unfortunate luck. It's deliberate. The times I've been called up for jury duty, I've been excused the moment one side or the other hears I have a doctorate in biology. And it's not just me. One time there was also a JPL physicist in the pool. He was out the minute they heard that. There's something rather fundamentally out of whack when the presumption of ability to understand the evidence is grounds for dismissal.<br /><br />That's all a side issue to your main point, of course. Like everyone else, thanks for posting it!<br /><br />(Oh, and I like "Science Marches On" solution of how to mitigate the risk of becoming Dr. Jukebox.)quixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12650030894065858444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-38818962183490531322011-12-08T22:25:06.971-05:002011-12-08T22:25:06.971-05:00Spot on.Spot on.Machahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01134507879758968527noreply@blogger.com