From Hannah Montana to drive-by shootings, there is plenty of interesting news in Cincinnati, Ohio today. But to me, your friendly patient advocate, an even more fascinating topic was reported in Cincinnati’s news this week: the possibility of a lemon law for medical consumers.
To me, it’s one of those “now why didn’t I think of that?” ideas!
A woman named Betsey Exline gets the credit here. Last spring she went for a routine colonoscopy, which was botched, and she ended up with emergency surgery and a stay in the hospital for eight days.
Nine doctors, the emergency surgeons and the hospital then billed her for the insult. Can you say “unmitigated gall?”
Should she sue? She could, although lawsuit cost estimates range into five figures and she’s not getting any younger.
Instead, this very wise woman took a very different approach. Bless her heart, she’s not looking to make money from this error which she will suffer from for the rest of her life. She just wants someone to pay her bills. She just wants someone to recognize that it should not be her responsibility, or her insurance company’s responsibility, to pay for the errors caused by others.
Hello? Duh! That just makes so much sense!
So Betsey contacted her local Ohio state representative and is now pursuing the introduction of legislation that would, in effect, force those who caused the errors to pay for the errors — but not through the courts. Instead the legislation will create a consumer protection process for medical errors. Those who caused the errors will be required to cover the costs that result from their errors.
And if it becomes law? The doctors win because it will cut down on lawsuits. The insurance companies win because it will cut down on lawsuits, too. And the patients win — at least to the extent they won’t have to pay those unfair bills.
(And who will stand in the way? Of course, those lawyers who handle medical error victim lawsuits. but that’s another blog post for another day.)
Wish I was in Cincinnati, Betsey. I’d find you — just to shake your hand. You’re a fixer of the first order.
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PS: Though you changed one year to six weeks nothing else was changed. Think about this, this person saw SIX DOCTORS IN THE COURSE OF SIX WEEKS. A biopsy was completed (though apparently initially read incorrectly). Just how does a doctor diagnose IBC in the setting of a negative biopsy? This is not an issue of just sitting on a diagnosis . Doctors were aggresively trying to find an answer. You just don’t see six doctors in six weeks unless doc to doc phone calls are made. The only issue I see here (besides the inital path) is giving the pt four courses of antibiotics without a clearly verfied bug. The next step would have been another biopsy which neither you (nor I) would have known the timing since we were not there, and anyways the pt appropriately sought out an opinion from another facility. IBC is not a slam dunk diagnosis, especailly to those who don’t see it often (like less common forms of lymphoma). Carla McClain’s article is poorly written and judgemental (very common for her). Again I suggest you read with a critical eye. It is easy to pontificate about “accountability” and I agree the US medical system can be dysfunctional and I welcome ANY checks/balances that increase patient safety. But remember this when you talk about other fields and accountability, we know much much more about trains, computers, automobiles, etc, etc, than we do about the human body.
Trisha,
I was confused by your initial statement: Are you claiming there are hundreds of jobs that have a better track record than medicine? There are few careers that are held more accountable than medicine. Just imagine how many lawsuits are filed each year against physicians. Tort reform has become a topic of interest because people are starting to realize that medical malpractice lawsuits are starting to get out of hand. Physicians hold each other accountable thru state medical boards and licensure. Physicians with poor track records become uninsurable or have their licenses suspended. It is also interesting that you claim that woman’s proposal wouls take lawyers out of the equation. You clearly don’t know lawyers. They are (in my biased opinion) reckless, unethical parasites who profit off others’ misfortune, but who are a necessary evil…people like you will apparently never see that because you will likely never be subjected to their crosshairs. Remember what I said about 40% of all lawsuits being found as frivolous? Not to mention the amount their involvement adds to the cost of healthcare in the US. There is not a motion passed about medical care that would not be subjected to a lawyers wrath or manipulation nor be beneficial to lawyers in some way and to think otherwise is hugely naive. You forget what profession writes and passes all these laws. And please stop confusing me with ELMO… your favorite anesthesiologist…Marc