Elderly woman dies after Bakersfield nurse "refuses" to do CPR

[jclalor 12]

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Had a coworker drop last week.
Massive heart attack according to the doctors.
CPR kept him going until the EMT's arrived - fire station is barely two blocks away.
He has since thanked the two coworkers that broke his ribs, punctured his lung, and saved his life.

Always good when you break a couple of ribs, it shows you're doing it right. Good to hear the success stories.

The American Heart association has kind of dropped the emphasis on rescue breathing for lay people. the rational being that if you don't have to do mouth to mouth on a stranger, without a barrier device, then you may be more willing to do chest compressions.

On a slightly related topic, I just got a new app called "pulsepoint"

http://pulsepoint.org/app/

If you are qualified in CPR and are willing to respond to a cardiac emergency in a public place, this app, through the local EMS/911 service will notify you if you are close to a person with cardiac arrest. This app has dramatically increased MI survival rates in the cities it's now being used,

[BillyVance 35]

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Give me his phone number.

You're in Florida?

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[davjohns 1]

I don't want to villify doctors, but if they are getting out of the industry, it is because they have made lots of money and can afford to. It is not because of medical malpractice (unless they are just that bad at medicine).

In Alabama, you can't just prove the doctor's negligence caused a problem. It has to be clear and unambiguous. Doctors enjoy legal immunities that ordinary citizens don't. And if it is a billing problem...guess what? It falls under medical malpractice. The same standard applies and their insurance defends it. In order to prove the doctor was negligent, I need an expert witness with the exact same qualifications as the negligent doctor. Makes sense, right? Except that if the negligent heart surgeon has a certification in cosmetic surgery, I have to find an expert heart surgeon with a certification in cosmetic surgery.

Then, you have to pay your expert witness to come in from out of state (Alabama doctors all have the same insurance carrier and are forbidden to testify against each other), pay expenses, and then see your trial changed to another date so you go through it over and over again.

Like I said before, the rule in Alabama is easy. If you are healthy enough to contact an attorney, you don't have a viable med mal case. This is in line with what Jerry said. Unless the patient is dead or a vegetable, the doctor is likely to head off to T time without a second thought about med mal.

I know. I know. We need reform to protect the poor doctors.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[Gravitymaster 0]

Typical Lawyers response. Believe it or not, there are many doctors who actually care about people more than they do the money. However, when they are restricted from doing what their passion is because of Insurance Companies, our whiney Me..Me Society and the scumbag lawyers who feed of of it, they find other passions. Don't tell me it isn't true. The best doctor I ever had left the profession years ago to peruse a career in engineering because he just got tired of being dictated to.

Now, I'll sit back while you and others miss the point.

[davjohns 1]

I absolutey get your point. And it is a valid one. I started out saying I don't want to villify doctors and I don't. However, I think the vast majority of the emotional reaction to med mal is generated by insurance companies. I think you will find out that a huge part of the 'dictating to' also comes from insurance companies. Who wants 'tort reform'. Did you guess 'insurance companies'? Good for you!

It is not a patient vs doctor thing. It isn't even a lawyer vs doctor thing. However, there is a money maker in there that wants it to appear so.

So, of course, our new health insurance legislation makes everyone buy insurance. Hmmmm....

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[wmw999 2,602]

I was reading an article last night about a country doctor, who enjoys what he's doing, and knows that it's not really practical for a young kid coming out of med school. He makes a decent living, but not great.

But the effort of keeping up with technology keeps increasing. He said that 40 years ago, 50 medicines made up the overwhelming majority of prescriptions, and doctors needed to really understand those, and just needed to add others to that base of knowledge for interaction purposes.

Now there are far more, and it's a huge problem. Along with the perception (aided by TV) that there is a pill that will fix everything that ails you, if the doctor will just prescribe it.

The whole "fix what's wrong" model of medicine is a huge problem; it encourages larger and more complex fixes, and they're being inserted into increasingly fragile systems of humans and medication (imagine that 87-year-old taking 12 different medications).

It's not as easy or as fun being a doctor as it was 40 years ago, and it costs a shitload to get there. And that's even before adding in the insurance companies, lawyers, and everything else.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Gravitymaster 0]

Of course the "dictating to" comes from Insurance Companies. Guess why they do it? Fear of being sued. Causes higher Insurance Premiums and that cost is carried on to the patient, who shops for the lowest Insurance Premiums making the company that is sued more often less attractive for new subscribers. Fewer subscribers means higher rates......yadda, yadda, yadda....

[Andy9o8 3]

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(Alabama doctors all have the same insurance carrier and are forbidden to testify against each other)

Hmm, not too collusive. Pretty sweet deal.
I swear, the public never even realizes when it's getting corn-holed.*






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*Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[BillyVance 35]

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(Alabama doctors all have the same insurance carrier and are forbidden to testify against each other)

Hmm, not too collusive. Pretty sweet deal.
I swear, the public never even realizes when it's getting corn-holed.*

There was a case where a woman went in for a routine colonoscopy. The Dr or medical personnel performing the procedure accidentally poked a hole in the intestine, which allowed food waste to leak out and slowly destroy the lady's health. She tried to sue, but lost. She died last year. My wife and I helped care for her and her husband along with other volunteers in her last few weeks, and it sucked to see her in all that pain.




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*Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[lawrocket 3]

Dave:

I think you are understating the problem. Doctors, as a whole, aren't paid what you would think. When doctors are conmpensated by insurance and Medicare, it's easy to see how it'sd troublesome.

Lawyers really don't do prepaid legal. We know what it's done to the medical profession and want no part of it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.