Medical Error & Accountability

[GWguy]

General rule the docs follow is that if the first sample is high, they request a second test and base the treatment on that. It's very odd that he read one sample and jumped immediately on prescription meds.

And if you were monitoring at home and not getting high readings, you should have questioned that too, and contacted the doctor.

Mistakes are made. It happens. but in the end, you are ultimately responsible for your own well being and treatments.

As far a s 'making a buck', it was obviously not intentional. Stuff happens.

 

[animalluvr4life]

i went to the doctors 2 weeks ago for a problem to be rechecked from going to urgent care as my doctor made an excuse of why she couldn't stay a tad bit longer for me to be seen at first. I went back to her as i needed more medication. I went in and she was like you don't need anything. I sat there and told her the problem wasn't gone and i would like to continue with what i was given at urgentcare as it was working. she then was like well i never heard of that medication there is no such thing as it. I made her go look it up and she did and was like you are right but you can go a bunch of over the counter stuff to make this yourself which would cost me more than what the prescription costs getting it filled at cvs. as i would have needed multiple tubes of each as they only came in less than 3oz containers (the main thing i needed and i said it would be easier for me to get it all already combined in one then try to figure out how to layer each thing on etc). i also asked for the powder too and she was like you don't need it ummm i do need it or i will be back in another week with a horrible mess and in a lot of pain.

she also tried to rush me out of her office as quick as she could because she spent over 30min with the last patient talking about his wife and kids cause i could hear them through the wall in the room i was in since they didn't have a noise blocker on. It was also it was past time for her to get off work as she gets off at noon and walked into my room at 3 min of 12 and said yeah uhuh there is nothing see you later and i said ummm why am i paying you to help me and you rushing me out the door because of you taking too much time with the previous patient?.

I think i will be looking for a new family doctor preferably a female doctor because this isn't the first time i been shoved out the door fast when i have issues because she spends way too much time with the patient before me and she wants to get out the door and go home to her kids because she doesn't want to spend money on daycare and her kids are young. Also her other excuse was i only work part time 5hrs 3 days a week and she comes in at 730am..maybe she should come in later so people who can't get in by noon and be out the door before 12 hits can be seen and not rushed out the door as if all she wanted to do was collect money from the insurance people. Atleast when i went to urgentcare they sat there and listened to me and even discussed with other doctor who was in the room which was the best method to take to get rid of this issue instead of saying just live with it you will be fine attitude

 

[DoWhat]

i went to the doctors 2 weeks ago for a problem to be rechecked from going to urgent care as my doctor made an excuse of why she couldn't stay a tad bit longer for me to be seen at first. I went back to her as i needed more medication. I went in and she was like you don't need anything. I sat there and told her the problem wasn't gone and i would like to continue with what i was given at urgentcare as it was working. she then was like well i never heard of that medication there is no such thing as it. I made her go look it up and she did and was like you are right but you can go a bunch of over the counter stuff to make this yourself which would cost me more than what the prescription costs getting it filled at cvs. as i would have needed multiple tubes of each as they only came in less than 3oz containers (the main thing i needed and i said it would be easier for me to get it all already combined in one then try to figure out how to layer each thing on etc). i also asked for the powder too and she was like you don't need it ummm i do need it or i will be back in another week with a horrible mess and in a lot of pain.

she also tried to rush me out of her office as quick as she could because she spent over 30min with the last patient talking about his wife and kids cause i could hear them through the wall in the room i was in since they didn't have a noise blocker on. It was also it was past time for her to get off work as she gets off at noon and walked into my room at 3 min of 12 and said yeah uhuh there is nothing see you later and i said ummm why am i paying you to help me and you rushing me out the door because of you taking too much time with the previous patient?.

I think i will be looking for a new family doctor preferably a female doctor because this isn't the first time i been shoved out the door fast when i have issues because she spends way too much time with the patient before me and she wants to get out the door and go home to her kids because she doesn't want to spend money on daycare and her kids are young.

Now I have a headache.

 

[Roman]

This is a little hard to explain, but with the Labs you had done, there could have been several issues that made the tests come out wrong. Hemolization is usually the biggest problem. It's the breaking up of the blood cells during the actual Blood Draw. This happens when the lumen of the needle is too small, like a Butter fly needle, mostly used on infants. How long did the blood sit out at room temperature? Nobody knows. How long was the transport of the blood, and did the driver have adequate cooling? Maybe not, but no one knows. With the labs being at critical levels, the Doctor should have asked the Patient to come in for a re-draw. Preferably fasting. On High, and critical values, the lab automatically re-tests the sample before sending the lab report to the Doc's Computer. Will you be able to sue? Probably not.

 

[kcd]

Everybody seems to think you are wanting to sue. I can't help you there. I believe nowadays you have to sign somthing releasing a doctor anyway before you are ever seen.

However, we have many incompetent doctors in our area. Or so it seems to me. With ObamaCare in the picture, it seems the doctors are the worst of the worst instead of the best of the best.

The best thing to do is to report them so that 1) others are informed when they research a new doctor and 2) maybe we can get them out of practice.

First I would go on Healthgrades and rate them (like Yelp reviews)
Healthgrades > Find a Doctor | Doctor Reviews | Hospital Ratings

Then I would report them to the MD Board of Physicians.
Maryland Board of Physicians Home Page

Yes, you were lucky. However, their next patient may not be.

Thanks for your post. I may follow through with your suggestions.

 

[kcd]

I reported a dentist once because I felt he was a scammer. Then I promptly found another dentist. That person is no longer in business.

Ever since my dentist retired, I've been like a dental vagabond -- I've gone from one dentist to the next because I can't find a good one. The ones I've seen lately came across as scammers and/or inferior, sorry to say.

 

[greeneyes36]

A recent blood test during a routine physical mistakenly showed that I have extremely high glucose and cholesterol levels. We didn't know this was a mistake at first, so I was prescribed unnecessary medication and started monitoring my glucose/cholesterol levels at home. Also, I had to go back for another test and doctor's visit to get this corrected. Here is the problem: my time and money were wasted because of this error but the health care workers actually profitted from this mistake that they caused. Where is the accountability? I deserve compensation but none was offered. It's not clear whether the mistake was cause by the doctor's office or the lab. I've started looking for a new internist. I should do more, like complain to the authorities.... What would be the correct things to do in this case?

were you prescribed medications to lower your glucose level or were you just supposed to monitor it?

 

[czygvtwkr]

i went to the doctors 2 weeks ago for a problem to be rechecked from going to urgent care as my doctor made an excuse of why she couldn't stay a tad bit longer for me to be seen at first. I went back to her as i needed more medication. I went in and she was like you don't need anything. I sat there and told her the problem wasn't gone and i would like to continue with what i was given at urgentcare as it was working. she then was like well i never heard of that medication there is no such thing as it. I made her go look it up and she did and was like you are right but you can go a bunch of over the counter stuff to make this yourself which would cost me more than what the prescription costs getting it filled at cvs. as i would have needed multiple tubes of each as they only came in less than 3oz containers (the main thing i needed and i said it would be easier for me to get it all already combined in one then try to figure out how to layer each thing on etc). i also asked for the powder too and she was like you don't need it ummm i do need it or i will be back in another week with a horrible mess and in a lot of pain.

she also tried to rush me out of her office as quick as she could because she spent over 30min with the last patient talking about his wife and kids cause i could hear them through the wall in the room i was in since they didn't have a noise blocker on. It was also it was past time for her to get off work as she gets off at noon and walked into my room at 3 min of 12 and said yeah uhuh there is nothing see you later and i said ummm why am i paying you to help me and you rushing me out the door because of you taking too much time with the previous patient?.

I think i will be looking for a new family doctor preferably a female doctor because this isn't the first time i been shoved out the door fast when i have issues because she spends way too much time with the patient before me and she wants to get out the door and go home to her kids because she doesn't want to spend money on daycare and her kids are young. Also her other excuse was i only work part time 5hrs 3 days a week and she comes in at 730am..maybe she should come in later so people who can't get in by noon and be out the door before 12 hits can be seen and not rushed out the door as if all she wanted to do was collect money from the insurance people. Atleast when i went to urgentcare they sat there and listened to me and even discussed with other doctor who was in the room which was the best method to take to get rid of this issue instead of saying just live with it you will be fine attitude

I think you need to see an English teacher.

 

[withrespect]

You guys are mean.

 

[Baja28]

Ever since my dentist retired, I've been like a dental vagabond -- I've gone from one dentist to the next because I can't find a good one. The ones I've seen lately came across as scammers and/or inferior, sorry to say.

:highmaintenance:

 

[kcd]

were you prescribed medications to lower your glucose level or were you just supposed to monitor it?

I was prescribed medication for high glucose and cholesterol levels but did not take the prescribed medications. I never had any problems with glucose or cholesterol, nor do I have any family history of such, so the lab tests numbers were incredible as far as I was concerned. I wanted additional tests before taking any medication. Additional tests showed that my levels are normal.

 

[SoMDGirl42]

I was given the wrong insulin at a pharmacy. Not a different brand, the wrong stuff completely. Had I used it, I would have been dead in less than a week.

I was given the wrong med from the pharmacy. Due to their error, I now have a 7 year old that calls me mom. Thanks Wal-Mart

True story !

 

[General Lee]

Yes. The health care workers made a quick buck off me by making a medical error.

If you wanted to be reimbursed for money spent on prescriptions, doctor visit copay and the like, I think that is fair. To sue for thousands and thousands in THIS situation is greed. You were unharmed and hey, everyone makes a mistake.

 

[kom526]

You keep referring to them as "health care providers", was this your primary care physician or an urgent care visit?

If it was your PCP then he should have known better (knowing your history) than prescribing meds. If this was an urgent care visit, then some of the onus lies upon you.

 

[kcd]

If you wanted to be reimbursed for money spent on prescriptions, doctor visit copay and the like, I think that is fair. To sue for thousands and thousands in THIS situation is greed. You were unharmed and hey, everyone makes a mistake.

That sounds reasonable. In my case, I didn't get reimbursed, not even an apology. There ought to be a law that says patients shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of health care workers. Maybe there is such a law.

Everybody makes a mistake. There are jails full of people that have made mistakes. You pay for YOUR mistakes (i.e., unless...well...if you are a doctor, then patient [the victim] pays). What happened to being accountable when it comes to health care workers? The problem is that incentive may be lacking to not make errors, if errors will only result in additional profits, but many accept it as the norm.

 

[withrespect]

That sounds reasonable. In my case, I didn't get reimbursed, not even an apology. There ought to be a law that says patients shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of health care workers. Maybe there is such a law.

Everybody makes a mistake. There are jails full of people that have made mistakes. You pay for YOUR mistakes (i.e., unless...well...if you are a doctor, then patient [the victim] pays).

Write a letter expressing your feeling of entitlement of an apology and/or refund. OR... go bat your eyelashes at the billing analyst.

 

[Roman]

Ever since my dentist retired, I've been like a dental vagabond -- I've gone from one dentist to the next because I can't find a good one. The ones I've seen lately came across as scammers and/or inferior, sorry to say.

kcd, really, I am not trying to be mean in any way. I do understand your distrust in your Doctor, IF what you are saying is not missing anything. You know, left out of your initial story. Chances are, that you may never be happy with any Doctor you will encounter during your life. You have to trust them, and ask questions. Mistakes happen all the time, no matter what profession. If there were no such things as mistakes, there would be no such things as erasers. Good luck in the future, and I do mean that. I just find it hard to believe your Doctor didn't ask you to have the blood re-drawn.

 

[ICit]

kcd, really, I am not trying to be mean in any way. I do understand your distrust in your Doctor, IF what you are saying is not missing anything. You know, left out of your initial story. Chances are, that you may never be happy with any Doctor you will encounter during your life. You have to trust them, and ask questions. Mistakes happen all the time, no matter what profession. If there were no such things as mistakes, there would be no such things as erasers. Good luck in the future, and I do mean that. I just find it hard to believe your Doctor didn't ask you to have the blood re-drawn.

go back to post 51


so the OP DID NOT take the meds, and now additional test showed things were normal.

 

[greeneyes36]

I was prescribed medication for high glucose and cholesterol levels but did not take the prescribed medications. I never had any problems with glucose or cholesterol, nor do I have any family history of such, so the lab tests numbers were incredible as far as I was concerned. I wanted additional tests before taking any medication. Additional tests showed that my levels are normal.

why did you even pick up the Rx's if you were sure that there was an error?? i know most dr's are using online Rx filling now, but i would have just called the pharmacy and let them know i would not be picking it up so dont bother filling it, if i knew i wasnt going to be using the Rx. you wouldnt be out the $$ had you done that.

even if you had taken the meds, it wouldnt have hurt you...unless you have a normal low glucose # as a normal base.

 

[kcd]

Write a letter expressing your feeling of entitlement of an apology and/or refund. OR... go bat your eyelashes at the billing analyst.

You think I can sweet talk the girl in billing for, say $1000 + an apology. That may be farfetched.