adventures in disaster

malpractice

I don't use that word lightly. As a health care professional hearing the word makes me sick with dread.
Sometimes it's true though.
A few months ago I hurt my back, again. Because I have already had one surgery and have had a re occurrence of pain I knew I couldn't ignore this new injury.
So I went to my family doctor. I had to wait three days for an appointment. My family doctor started some new drugs and then called my neurologist. I waited three weeks to see the neurologist. He is a lovely man and a fine doctor. His response? None. No recommendations, no treatment plan. I asked to see my neurosurgeon.
Six weeks later..six weeks ..I got a phone call to tell me my neurosurgeon was no longer seeing spine patients, he was semi-retired. He passed me along to a co-worker. This guy avoided all calls for another two weeks. Finally I went into the office. His secretary told me she had no idea when I could get an appointment as this guy carried his appointment book with him and "wouldn't let her know when he was free".
So I went home.
A week later I got a call from my first neurosurgeons secretary. I was now to see another guy.
The very next day.
So I went. He was about twenty five. Obviously right out of fellowship. Worse he was a dick that didn't bother to read my chart and had no idea why I was there. He did a full exam without realizing I had no current MRI.
Oh, you guessed it...six weeks later I got my MRI. I have called this idiots office three times. I can't get a follow up appointment. His secretary tells me he likes to do his follow ups on the goddamn phone.
Does he tell his brain tumour patients they are going to die over the phone too? Shit, I wouldn't put it past him.
So, I called my neurologist and begged his secretary to have him please read my damn MRI.

I am sitting here waiting to find out if there is a surgical fix for this mess I am in.
This idiot neurosurgeon was so fucking cheerful about not needing surgery. I told him if there is no surgical fix then I am living a life sentence of unremitting pain. There is not one fucking good thing about being non-operable and any idiot with an ounce of compassion would know this.


I know I don't have something awful like cancer or something emergent like a bleeding aneurysm but holy shit I am still entitled to care. It shouldn't take four months to find out whether my back can be fixed or it can't.
The radiologist reads the MRI and generates a report. All the idiots have to is read and then call me.
This would take about three minutes.
I guess the fact that I cannot sit or stand for more than thirty minutes at a time and the fact that I fall a lot and break skull and toes is meaningless.
Will it be so meaningless when I fall and hurt myself so badly I need round the clock care and I sue your ass for malpractice for the limit of your policy?
Malpractice covers not only active care , it covers the lack of care.

Right now my care is "here, take some of these pills and shut up, no one wants to hear it".

What happened to continuity of care? If my neurosurgeon who had previously performed a completely successful surgery hadn't gone into semi retirement would I have had a better experience?
Who knows? But it doesn't really matter cause I am stuck with the dregs and it's malpractice.

posted by adventures in disaster @ 8:48 PM