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 Patient Perspective

When adverse events or medical errors occur, many physicians feel the need to cover it up and try to move forward with the patient without explaining to them what has happened, what can be done at that time and what will be done in the future to prevent this from happening again. Doctors often have a fear of being sued for medical malpractice after causing a medical error, therefore they never accept responsibility for what has happen to the patient. The problem with this situation is that nothing is done to ensure that this does not occur again; therefore another patient can become a victim of a medical error. Doctors have to be willing to accept their fate and do whatever is necessary to ensure that they are completely honest with the patient. By being honest and forthcoming with the patient, doctors and medical staff can obtain the patient’s perspective which is an important part of treatment.

A patient’s perspective is one of the most important factors when determining whether and adverse event has occurred.  These events are a traumatic time in the life of the patient and it is important to gauge their thoughts about how they are feelings, their thoughts about what has happen, and their opinion about the remaining course of their treatment.

A few years ago, my aunt who suffers from Alzheimer ’s disease was admitted into a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation after a fall. At that time, she was in the beginning stages of the disease so we were hopeful that once she was able to walk again, she would return home. During her stay at the facility, my aunt was a victim of a medical error. She was given the wrong medication; luckily after several test and visits with the doctor, there was no real harm done to her. The best part about this negative situation is that the facility did not try to “cover-up” the mistake they made. They immediately contacted the next of kin, her primary care physician, and were able to rectify the situation quickly. The facility completed the additional tests that were run as a result of the error free of charge as well as applied other discounts to her care and stay. For these reasons, my grandfather, who is in charge of her care did not sue or threaten to sue as the error was worked out by the facility acknowledging their mistakes. Everyone’s situation is not as fortunate as our family, however giving the patient or patient’s family a chance to make the best decision for their family is a very important factor after and adverse event has occurred. 

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From Patients to Lab Rats

Living in a world where new medications, health care technologies, and medical treatments appear each day, we also have to recognize that new diseases will sprout into existence as well. Once these unfamiliar diseases develop, a lot of research goes into the process of finding a course of treatment or an actual cure. During the research process, there are a series of test, scans, and questionnaires that have to be done to figure out what is going on within a person’s body. This research, regardless of the disease or reason has to be taken with the mindset of the patient’s improvement as the top priority. Sadly, not all patients are treated the same. Some patients who suffer from such rare illnesses are often subject to becoming research subjects. Instead of doctors providing the best course of treatment for the patient to try and maintain their quality of life, they often determine that the patient is not able to be cured and then begin using them as “lab rats”.

Not only does this situation happen in the case of patients suffering from rare diseases but it also happens within of arenas of healthcare. According to the New York Times, medical professionals were used by the Central Intelligence Agency’s (C.I.A.) for the interrogations of terrorism suspects. These medical professionals were assigned to monitor the C.I.A.’s use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other methods of interrogation to ensure that they stayed within the limits of the law (Risen , 2010). However, while the medical staff was conducting the monitoring sessions, they turned the detainees into research subjects by helping the agency to calibrate the level of pain experienced by the detainees during the interrogation (Risen , 2010). At this point, the medical professionals made an unethical decision to treat the detainees as research subjects rather than patients.

Regardless of what the medical professionals were summoned to do, they went against their Hippocratic Oath by helping the C.I.A. to commit harmful acts against the patients. They also did not hold true to the portion of the oath which states that would provide care to the benefit of the patient.

References:

Risen , J. (2010, June 07). Medical ethics lapses cited in interrogations. The New York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/world/07doctors.html

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Organs for Sale...

Many of you have heard of the “black market”. Although it does not have a physical address the black market encompasses the most illegally bought and sold products or services throughout the world.  Examples of products sold on the black market are illegal drugs or weapons that have been smuggled into the country and sold out of the line of sight of government officials and law enforcement. Some countries also endure the service sector of the black market in the form of prostitution. Some may believe the black market is only for the sale of harmful or “bad things” within our country however the black market has been introduced in the world of healthcare as well. Due to the fact that there is currently a shortage of donated organs, the black market has become an answer for desperate healthcare consumers in need of organs for themselves of family members.  One of the most common organs sold illegally in the black market are kidneys (Schulman, 2012). The shortage of these organs has led to many violations of laws for countries all over the world. 

The sale of organs has become so prevalent in some parts of the world that they have even been done for reasons such as the purchase of materialistic things. For example, a Chinese news station reported that a 17 year old resident of China sold his Kidney so he could purchase and iPhone. Sales of organs for reasons such as these have led the black market to profit a total of $75 million dollars a year according to the International Business Times (Schulman, 2012).  Some ethicist believes that the sale of organs puts a value on human life and that in part is corrupting the meaning of human dignity. Others believe that there would be more willing donors if they or their families received some benefits from their donation.

In my opinion, a dollar amount should never determine the value of a human life. If we begin to sale organs, then only the healthcare consumers who could afford it would be able to receive the organs. This would leave out the poor people who are in need of help as well. People also may become desperate for the sale of organs and start committing crimes in order to sale the organs of others for a profit. Putting a dollar value on organs will open up a plethora of unethical activities within the field of healthcare and therefore I am against the sale of human organs.

 Reference: 

Schulman, M. (2012). Kidneys for sale: A reconsideration. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/kidney-sale.html

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VIP vs. General Population 

Although the baby boomer generations of the 1960’s are in the retirement stages of their lives, it seems that some of the younger population has taken on the role as the baby boomers of today. These elite groups of baby boomers are among the wealthy of the population ranging from movie stars to singers and young entrepreneurs.  Recently, one of Hollywood’s wealthiest couples gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital (Grossberg, 2012). Singer, song writer, and actress Beyonce and music mogul rapper Jay- Z Carter were yet again in the spotlight; however they were not there in good spirits. Both mother and father were in the spotlight due to accusations of causing unpleasant birth for other parents within the hospital. New mothers and patients of the hospital have stated they were mistreated by the hospital staff and the Carter’s security team. Some parents claimed they were moved to different rooms, asked to leave the neonatal ICU and others claimed their birthing and breastfeeding classes were canceled due to the birth of baby Carter. Contrary to the reports, hospitals officials denies the claims of the treatment to the other mothers and further denies the claims that the Carter family rented out a section of the hospital for their personal use (Grossberg, 2012).

This article is one of many that surface when hospitals are caring for wealthy patients. Examples such as the birth of baby Carter promote ethical issues that hospitals have to deal with every day. However, not only do famous patients receive special treatment, hospitals also are accused of providing elite care for patients such as financial donors of the hospital, trustees’ family members, and board of trustee members. Although it is important that the privacy of any patient is protected, every patient should be treated equally when seeking care regardless of their social status. Therefore if hospitals are making special arrangement for wealthier patients, I believe that these hospitals need to be held accountable and policies need to be implemented to ensure that this does not continue to happen.

References:

Grossberg, J. (2012, January 09). Retrieved from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45934223/ns/today-entertainment/t/hospital-denies-beyonce-rented-whole-floor-birth/

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Higher quality equals higher cost…

Hospitals strive to provide a high standard of quality when providing care to their patients. Many hospitals are working to revamp their quality improvement standards by becoming patient centered and advancing the patient experience. Millions of dollars are going into hospital renovations, new technology, training programs for personnel and new treatments for patients suffering from terminal diseases such as cancer, HIV, and heart disease. With the advancements being made to the quality of care patients are receiving, one has to wonder what the effect of higher quality will have on the cost of patient care, after all someone has to foot the bill. For example, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States therefore researchers and cardiologist have made and continue to make advancements in the study of treating, preventing and curing patients suffering from the disease. Over the years the treatment of heart disease has evolved from oxygen and morphine to cardiac catheterizations, angioplasties, and the placement of a medicated stent. The cost of these treatments has also evolved from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars.

However, the advancing of treatment is not the issue. The problem lies within the organization where the treatments take place. Two hospitals located in the same city can charge different amounts for the same treatment just because they are ranked higher in quality than the other. Although the service that you receive at one facility is exactly the same as another, hospitals will charge more to cover the cost of the patient experience.

Therefore, one has to wonder if the patient experience is worth the added cost of the service. Does a better hospital experience really help the patient’s recovery process? After volunteering at several locations where patient experience was a priority and facilities where patient experience was not so important, I can agree that higher quality of care does add to the cost but it is well worth it. As a patient, it is comforting to know that the care you receive is centered on you. The healing process is also easier when the environment is comfortable, the staff recognizes the unique needs of individual patients, and the doctors treating you are highly recommended in their field.

Reference:

Brown , D. (2009, July 26). As health-care quality rises, so does price. The Washington Post . Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/25/AR2009072502381.html?sid=ST2009072600012