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2 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

It is conducted in a hospital with a panel of medical practitioners deciding the case.  The hospital has an attorney and an expert witness.  The doctor has an attorney and an expert witness.  Everything said was taken by a certified shorthand reporter.  It was a well-fought battle.  

does this process happen before any claim of malpractice is leveled against the doctor, so no insurance company representation present?

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That sounds scary, I guess any medical procedure can go wrong, I guess you just have to be in the better odds.

It's like all the medicine commercials,  the side affects could clearly be worse that what it supposedly cures. They say ask you doctor if xyz is right for you, I'm not going to try to sell my doctor on a medicine from a commercial, I'm hoping they knows what's best.

 

But I did find out I was prescribed a very bad medicine once that was not for what I had, it was more or less chemo in a pill. After asking a couple of doctors I know from this forum (thank you again) who asked other doctors they know in that field, they said it was not right. Went to a referred doctor and she could not believe what I was prescribed. One procedure $300 and it was done, compared to 6 months of very expensive medicine (they could get me for free) with very bad side affects. The worst was any other types of cancer would become very aggressive, the rest was normal, hair and weight loss, sick, sore muscles, and no appetite.

 

 

I try to avoid any doctors unless it's an emergency, probably not good either ?

 

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Just now, BigStewMan said:

does this process happen before any claim of malpractice is leveled against the doctor, so no insurance company representation present?

There was no claim of malpractice at all.  This process is initiated by the hospital.  The patients and their families are not told about the process.  It is strictly to review whether the doc should have any restrictions on his privileges to practice on the hospital or not.  IIRC, I don't even think a patient would be entitled to subpoena any information that occurs in the course of a peer review proceeding or use what happened in one as evidence to support a claim of malpractice.

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2 minutes ago, dtel said:

That sounds scary, I guess any medical procedure can go wrong, I guess you just have to be in the better odds.

It's like all the medicine commercials,  the side affects could clearly be worse that what it supposedly cures. They say ask you doctor if xyz is right for you, I'm not going to try to sell my doctor on a medicine from a commercial, I'm hoping they knows what's best.

 

But I did find out I was prescribed a very bad medicine once that was not for what I had, it was more or less chemo in a pill. After asking a couple of doctors here who asked other doctors they know in that field they said it was not right. Went to a referred doctor and she could not believe what I was prescribed. One procedure $300 and it was done, compared to 6 months of very expensive medicine (they could get me for free) with very bad side affects. The worst was any other types of cancer would become very aggressive.

 

I try to avoid any doctors unless it's an emergency, probably not good either ?

 

Your story sounds scary, too!  

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1 minute ago, Jeff Matthews said:

I don't even think a patient would be entitled to subpoena any information that occurs in the course of a peer review proceeding or use what happened in one as evidence to support a claim of malpractice.

Seems to be a defensive position by the hospital ... a CYA maneuver. Should this peer review rule against the doctor and his privileges suspended, could a patient bring that up in court? If so, i imagine it would come out that the peer review decided against the doctor.  Would that be inadmissible?

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7 minutes ago, dtel said:

I try to avoid any doctors unless it's an emergency, probably not good either ?

Elden, on the computer game Life & Death, I can remove an appendix on the beginner and intermediate level. So, I can help as long as you don’t have an advanced case of something.  I did get pulled out of surgery once for starting to cut into the patient without anesthesia.  What, a guy can’t forget?

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1 minute ago, dtel said:

It's just like an in house review, no one would even know.

well, if i’m your lawyer, i’m sure asking if the doctor still has full privileges. If not, I’m going to want to know what transpired that resulted in the doctor’s privileges being suspended. 

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14 minutes ago, BigStewMan said:

Elden, on the computer game Life & Death, I can remove an appendix on the beginner and intermediate level. So, I can help as long as you don’t have an advanced case of something.  I did get pulled out of surgery once for starting to cut into the patient without anesthesia.  What, a guy can’t forget?

Minor problem, you could not get far without the anesthesia.

 

Edit; I forgot the anesthesia for the appendix was amazing, they don't play around, I had never been put to sleep before my only time,  and it was a little cool. :huh:

 

I am starting to feel glad I had my appendix removed after hearing that. I had no choice it popped and hurt, and i was not getting better so went to the hospital after putting it off as long as I could.

It is the only thing I have had done that I had to spend the night in the hospital ever, I still have my tonsil's is that normal ? My doctor was great and a very good looking lady and did a great job. The only problem I had was I was not hungry at all so I never ate for a couple of days while there, just drank the apple juice. My problem was they kept giving me pain pills even when I said I didn't need them. Apple juice and many pain pills get you a little strange after a couple of days.

 

12 minutes ago, BigStewMan said:

well, if i’m your lawyer, i’m sure asking if the doctor still has full privileges. If not, I’m going to want to know what transpired that resulted in the doctor’s privileges being suspended. 

I would think that's how it starts. I would never know I just want to get through it alive.

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Eldens comments about the meds reminds me of an incident that happened to me a few months ago. I was prescribed a medicine that was supposed to help with nausea after chemo. Even though I never felt like I needed them I took the tablets for 5 days and experienced stomach pains starting shortly after taking them. After those 5 days I stopped taking the stuff and felt better. Next doctor visit my Dr. asked if I was taking my prescriptions. I told him the story above. He said, that's right, if it's not helping you then don't take them. Medicines are supposed you. If they're not helping then don't take them.

 

Keith

 

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Since we don't know the unknowns the unknowns tend to worry us. To help alleviate the unknowns regarding by-pass surgery I can tell you not to worry about the surgery itself. Piece-o-cake. Less painful than a toothache. That is, if you survive it.

 

Keith

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5 hours ago, Jeff Matthews said:

Yes.  What is interesting is that it is not a court proceeding.  It is conducted in a hospital with a panel of medical practitioners deciding the case.  The hospital has an attorney and an expert witness.  The doctor has an attorney and an expert witness.  Everything said was taken by a certified shorthand reporter.  It was a well-fought battle.  

 

If the doc is not satisfied with what comes of this process, he has the right to appeal to district court, but it is a very, very limited right.  Much deference is given to the medical professionals when it comes to these things.

Wow, great insight. 

This sounds parallel to the Peace officer profession be they prison, sheriff's, men in blue etc.  

Often times the "punishment" for more serious offenses from not doing night count of bodies in prison to a lack of common sense is decided "in house" before a panel. 

One instance of a guy who would have a habit of leaving his side arm and rifle unsecured in public places. Common sense right so nobody steals them, public safety etc.Gun owners KNOW never to leave a loaded firearm on a chair unattended and walk away.

90% of the time the punishment is less than favorable. While most of the reprimand is reduction in pay and rank it can be harsh. A few have lost their homes. However, my take is they thought you were SOMEWHAT salvageable and let you keep your job and hopefully this "correction" will make you a better person. Otherwise the in house commission then hands it over to another body outside the department. If it gets there you have less than .01% chance of coming back. As was the case with the guy who had good book smarts but no common sense when it came to firearm safety. The department let him go after the third time. 

One can appeal outside via the courts but most of the time judges give wide latitude to these commissions.

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To a certain extent, I am like dtel.   Don't go to the Dr.  Blissfully ignorant.

 

Funny, or maybe not,.  None of us, my sisters and I, go to the Dr. And we had a Dr [BIL] in the family. He passed from pancreatic at 51. The most health conscious member of the family.

 

 

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In an earlier life I defended medical malpractice cases.  In those days it was easier to bring frivolous suits, and many were.  Today, the cost to bring a medical malpractice case weeds out most of the truly frivolous cases.  IMO, tort litigation is an inefficient, and ineffective, system to weed out incompetent, or careless, physicians, or to compensate injured victims.  I wish I could offer a better alternative.

 

For example, if a dentist pulls the wrong tooth, negligence is clear but damages don’t justify litigation, therefore the injured patient is SOL.  There are many instances of potential negligence along the spectrum from the tooth to brain surgery that are not adequately addressed by the tort system due to the damages issue.

 

IMO, physicians, and most professions, including law enforcement, lawyers, teachers, plumbers, clergy, you name it, need to do a better job of policing themselves.  Every profession contains incompetent individuals who should be removed.  Leaving it to the tort litigation system to accomplish that is crazy.

 

One of the most frivolous cases I defended involved a claim of failure to diagnose a benign space occupying lesion.  The nice lady had a non-cancerous brain tumor removed with excellent results.  My clients were dermatologists.  They treated her successfully for  an unrelated lesion on her lip.  Around the office it was referred to as “the pimple brain tumor case.”  Absent evidence that she exhibited some symptoms that could have suggested the presence of a brain tumor, such as slurred speech or dragging a leg while walking, her dermatologists had no duty to diagnose a brain tumor or to even refer her to a neurologist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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40 minutes ago, WillyBob said:

To a certain extent, I am like dtel.   Don't go to the Dr.  Blissfully ignorant.

 

Funny, or maybe not,.  None of us, my sisters and I, go to the Dr. And we had a Dr [BIL] in the family. He passed from pancreatic at 51. The most health conscious member of the family.

 

 

 

Whether doctors, plumbers, lawyers, or auto mechanics, it is important to trust the ability and integrity of the individuals you select.  Consult people whose opinions you value for recommendations.  Get second opinions.  

 

Do not automatically accept the first doctor “assigned” to you by a hospital.  Years ago I was hospitalized due to abdominal pain.  From my bed I called a college buddy radiologist for free medical advice.  Over the phone he diagnosed diverticulitis. Since it was the third episode in a few months, the correct decision was partial resection of my sigmoid colon.  In other words, I was punctuated with a semi-colon.

 

The hospital “assigned” a surgeon to perform the surgery.  The doctor came to my bedside to discuss the procedure but would not make eye contact.  I called my internist for recommendations.  The next surgeon was eager to answer my questions, plus he had small hands so I figured he could work with a smaller incision.

 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have an internist you know and trust as the gatekeeper to your medical needs.

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9 hours ago, BigStewMan said:

well, if i’m your lawyer, i’m sure asking if the doctor still has full privileges. If not, I’m going to want to know what transpired that resulted in the doctor’s privileges being suspended. 

I know you'd be asking if you could; so would anyone.  The judge orders the attorneys not to ask questions like that.

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