And if I tell some parents/patients they do not need a test or procedure because its unnecessary and something bad could happen during it, they will tell you its OK because they are not paying for it and if something goes wrong they'll just sue me!

I had a mother who was furious when I told her that her daughter had a cold and started ranting about whether I thought she would have come in for just a cold. I then asked her, "well, do you want her to have a serious illness?" She admitted she did not, and I told her "be glad she only has a cold." That discussion has recurred many times with others, but it still boggles my mind!

It is just so easy to push some pills or whatever at people. It takes more time and mental energy to do the right thing in medicine. And many patients just think of the doctor as a way to get medicine, and don't really care about what the physician's professional judgment/opinion is.

I rather like wilderness medicine and the like, because your knowledge and skills are pretty much it. You cannot pack everything, but you take the essentials and make do for the rest.

As a parent, when a civilian doc tells me "...and we run some other tests if he/she gets worse..." I wonder if it's the doctor talking, or the insurance company keeping costs down.

I hope I'm not the exception, but when the doc told me "I screwed up", my response was ..." and how are you going to keep other docs from making the same mistake?"

So many people/lawyers are trying to make a cheap $ off of honest mistakes that people are reluctant to admit that there was a mistake and then use it as a learning tool.

There is nothing "certain" in medicine. It is always a balance of risks/benefits. Unless the doctor is working in a capitated system, he loses nothing by ordering everything. On the other hand, if I order a bunch of tests, one is likely to be outside the normal range because of bell curve distribution. That may lead to more (unnecessary) testing, more meaningless results, and so on.


That is what the medical literature is for, to learn from others.

The real errors, such as removing the wrong extremity, are preventable except for the issue of humans being involved. There is movement toward admission of errors in hospitals, but the medicolegal system makes it challenging!

Guess I should have broken that down more, so I could get more posts toward my JYD goal!

One good run tonight, and I am in. Gotta go for now.

Mighty quiet in the Yard today.

Everyone is waiting on specs pricing and when we can buy.

Thought maybe I'd see a run.

It has been a quiet day.