When patients' health and well-being are no longer the top priority of physicians the system is no longer trust worthy and should be radically reconstructed to once again serve the interests of equal protection and security of ALL patients. Piecemeal socialization or V.A. type medical care within an overarching for profit system only tends to subject the poor who do manage to access medical care to the sort of abuses described above. I heard a wise person suggest that if all the physicians and other medical staff who worked at the V.A. had to use the V.A. themselves for medical care, things would change. Likewise, only in a one-payer system that treats ALL citizens who seek medical care the same, will some of us not be subjected to such abuse in the interest of others. Only in a one-payer system will physicians and other medical staff find their interests in common with the patient's interest.
What can we as patients needing care do in the meantime?
1. Demand a single payer system,
3. Demand family member presence while under anesthesia.
4. Read all consent documents, and do not be afraid to alter those documents or bring your own for the physician to sign.
5. Ask if trainees will be involved in your care at the time you make an appointment. Record the conversation.
6. Be ready to refuse care or be turned away and find care elsewhere.
7. Lobby your state and federal representatives for greater protective legislation. Add a clause to consent forms in facilities such as the V.A. regarding adherence to state regulations they are not otherwise obligated to follow.
8. Be suspicious of physicians who make multiple referrals, use coercive tactics to convince you to do things, respond to every concern you may express with another scan, MRI, or other test, seem to have more patients than can be properly cared for without many residents and trainees helping out, lie to you even once.
9. Educate yourself and become wise about how you access medical care before you discover you have been abused. Remember, no medical care, or delayed medical care can, in many cases, be better than bad medical care.
10. Be a skeptic. Expect your doctor to lie to you. Remember their Hippocratic Oath has more to do with P.R. propaganda than having any real meaning to many physicians.
11. When you find a doctor has abused you; let the rest of us know. Post flyers, post adds, get the word out about that doctor. Start an Abusive Doctor boycott list web site in your area. As we boycott those physicians and seek care with more ethical practitioners incentives may shift a bit.
MC Kean
1. The following two articles represent a very small fraction of the propaganda concerning lawsuits and medical malpractice.
A Confederacy of Boobs , by Michael Fumento Reason , October 1995
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