This is a real problem with any kind of serious disease. I am watching this with my girlfriend now. The patient is thrown into this inscrutable, faceless and expensive machine without knowing what's going on. I wonder how much the health outcome could be improved by treating patients more humanely.
> I wonder how much the health outcome could be improved by treating patients more humanely.
Treating patients more humanely costs money, while health care is just another business, human care is just for the people that can afford it. She is lucky to have you by her side. For you, she is not just a business, she is a beloved human being.
What exactly would you consider as a "humane" approach -- it is possible that the doctor and her/his team don't really want to be the bearer of bad news and take refuge in the system to allow you to come to the conclusion yourself?
Just act like real people. Admit that you are not sure about something, have doctors talk to each other and not make the patient run back and forth, don't "protect" the patient from bad news (they have no problems giving the news that you owe 10000 dollars).
For example, if one doctor is not sure about something another doctor said, they don't seem to be able to pick up the phone and ask the other doctor to clarify. Instead they often assume something and work with that assumption or they make the patient go back to the other doctor which costs days or weeks to set up and hours of appointments.
If you're lucky you have someone to drive you to one specialist after another, and all they seem to care about is their fee.
People don't need hand holding, but they don't need to put up with doctors who are deep in professional deniability.
I don't have a solution.
I watched my father go through hell with his cancer diagnosis. They had residents comming into his hospital room Palpating his liver tumor. The last straw was when this very young person came in, and started to lift his gown.
I had a feeling what was going on, but asked anyways, "What are you doing?" White smock, "Oh, I need to palpate the patient!" Me, "You are the third person pushing into his right upper quadrant, for no apparant reason? Are you a resident, and just learning on my father?" The person abruptly left the room.
All the doctors said we can't help you father, but we had to drag him into their fancy offices. And they loved his insurance plan. It was a good one. Paid 90% of whatever they charged, and they charged.
Specialist, "Well after reviewing your chart, I can't help."
Rinse repeat, after another doctor's office call. "I would like to see you!"
Done. I thought Pallitive Care would be efficient.
Then a call from a Doctor. "I can help you." He also gave a speech on drinking. I knew at the time, this little stocky dude was enticed by the good insurance, but what do I know?
Well, after a week, my dad gets the call. "I'm sorry. I can't help you." He did seem sincerely dissapointed.
Weeks later my father slowly wither away in pain. The hospice doctors never quite gave enough medication.
(It got to the point, if I knew a drug dealer, I would have gone out to buy heroin for my father. Great system?")
So you're able to jerkily refuse students to come and learn on patients, but you can't refuse specialists appointments (and these unbearable doctors keep doing their job, trying to do prevention by discouraging people from drinking and smoking !), even when you knew that this case was helpless ?
I understand it is painful to lose a parent and see them in such distress, but I really don't get patients/families who
turn into salt mines when the unevitable happens. Some patients are very willing to sollicitate many specialists in hope for good news, no matter how unlikely they are, and hold praticians responsible for what is often more of a patient/family's own unability to deal with [diagnosis]. Good luck with your grief.
