Healthcare dissolves

[Guest guest]

From Drain, Oregon; As health care dissolves, I see more and more disjointed care, and more foolish procedural errors. It is not improved my greater "team effort." This half day: At noon I came in to see a patient who had not had appointment. She came in with a visiting family member who now has a red bump on her leg; apparently a MERSA boil, by the looks of its behavior, although I am culturing. This new and unknown patient's husband is in prison, so I think she may be the source of my patient's community acquired MERSA. No insurance. No physician who sees her. She works in the meat cutting department of a small grocery store. Makes you feel good, doesn't it? Waiting for me was a fax from a radiologist in a town 40 miles away; the ER report was not

here. This was on a frail 89 year old woman who fell and broke her elbow. The family was not told what she had: she had a splint put on the arm and was sent home. She fell again and was resplinted at the same ER and sent home. Today the family are at their wits ends; she is in pain and can not get out of a chair. She should have been hospitalized and seen the orthopedic surgeon then and there. This did not happen and apparently the ER Mailed me the report on this patient. No call. No fax. By two hours later I had her in the ER of a more advanced hospital 30 miles north so the Orthopod On Call could see her. This is three days late: the family did not know to call me at home. Patient was too disoriented to remember. Also waiting for me was a faxed form letting me know that "on 5/19/2011 you ordered oxygen on patient

WW" and would I sign this form. However, I had not ordered oxygen on this patient; it was done by someone else in an ER, apparently in my name. I called the patient and set up an appointment to see him. Again the ER had mailed me his report, and I had to call them to ask for the fax. Patient WW is starting treatment for prostate cancer, and apparently got a small pulmonary embolism. He went, wisely, to the ER when he got short of breath and had not told me until we called him this morning. He had told them to contact me so thought I knew. I don't know what mysterious physician ordered his home oxygen in my name. I let the company know I don't sign these things until I see the patient but will after I see him. Oh, also I am now managing his coumadin. Nice of the ER to let me know that, don't you think? Good lord! What happens in other practices? Do the

doctors just sign these things? Do the patients just float around and maybe die before anyone knows they are sick? Joanne Holland DVM/MD Drain, Oregon