Physician Standard of Care / Not Reporting Life Threatening Xray Resul

[Proserpina]

ou're pursuing, just keep engaged in the pursuit. The true success for YOU, is in the endeavor. That's what it was for us. You win by simply being persistent, not giving up, because the pursuit of justice for your mother helps you grieve. It surely did for me. Remember, it's always about the journey, never the destination.


Thank you so much army judge. I feel you are the first one to actually understand what I am asking.

Yes I definately feel that I am fighting for my mothers honor. Yes my mother was ill and yes she was living on borrowed time. I understand all of that.

I guess what I was unable to convey is that even though my mother was ill and elderly, her physician that she trusted, to care for her medical needs, did not uphold the medical standard of care by following through and reading her X-ray report in a timely manner. Had she been afforded medical care they could have administered lasix to get the fluid off as was done in the past. This doctor had such a big ego and it disturbs me greatly that *he* chose when she would die. For my mother, I have to stand up for her!

I am so sorry for the loss of your son, I couldn't imagine. Thank you again for your response.

I'm not sure you understood what I was saying. I don't think you understood the medical mechanics, either.

The doctor did not choose when your mother would die, and based purely on what you've written here there was no deviation from the standard of care.

It is vital that you accept that because your own mental health will suffer otherwise. You are talking about legal action and no amount of emotional pain, or feelings that it's unfair, is going to change that fact.

I know it seems unfair. But that doesn't mean that it's illegal, or even wrong.

I wish you well.

 

[lesabre]

Proserpina, I do appreciate your response and yes my emotional health has very much been affected by this.

Is it not reasonable to expect our doctors to review X-ray results in a timely fashion?

Is it also not reasonable to expect a phone call informing us of those results?

Is it not reasonable to expect a doctor to treat a patients symptoms or should we expect that sometomes your issues will be addressed and other times not?

I swear I am not trying to be difficult. When does a doctor get to decide who meets the criteria for the care I expected?

 

[disagreeable]

When you become the doctor and provide the standard of care. Medicine is a practice, everyone has different capabilities based on their skill and available time.

Proserpina, I do appreciate your response and yes my emotional health has very much been affected by this.

Is it not reasonable to expect our doctors to review X-ray results in a timely fashion?

Is it also not reasonable to expect a phone call informing us of those results?

Is it not reasonable to expect a doctor to treat a patients symptoms or should we expect that sometomes your issues will be addressed and other times not?

I swear I am not trying to be difficult. When does a doctor get to decide who meets the criteria for the care I expected?

 

[cbg]

Lesabre, I am also sympathetic to your situation. But really, from everything you have told us, it is quite unlikely that there would have been a different result even if the doctor had looked at the x-ray results the very same minute they were available.

I don't recall at this time whether you've already contacted med-mal attorneys or not, If you have, and if they have declined to take the case, that only backs up what Pro (who does have medical knowledge) is telling you. If you have not, then for your own peace of mind I urge you to do so. I think you are going to need to hear it from them before you will accept the truth.

 

[Proserpina]

Proserpina, I do appreciate your response and yes my emotional health has very much been affected by this.

Is it not reasonable to expect our doctors to review X-ray results in a timely fashion?

Right, I'm going to break it down again because I think the thread is getting a bit more confusing.

First, did the x-ray show something markedly different from her baseline?

Second, what is "timely fashion"?

To the first question, we look at the patient's history. Is this a new condition? Is it a worsening of the patient's condition/s? In your case, I would expect the answer to be the latter, not the former. It might be described in very cold and impersonal terms, but it's an absolutely valid concern and one which often decides the next course of action. All too often though, the course of action is to have no action at all other than comfort care. When fluid is present, there comes a point where Lasix just isn't going to work. From the radiologist's report alone, we can see that there is a history of congestive heart failure and the natural course results in death in a huge percentage of patients.

I honestly doubt you'd find a clinician who would testify in your favor - not by any false sense of loyalty, but simply because what happened .... well, happened.

We also have to look at "timely fashion". Unfortunately for those left behind, there is no standard protocol and this is why it's something of a crap-shoot. In some facilities 2-3 days would be the norm. Before anything else though, we need to understand that the radiologist is the first person to "read" and create a report. It's been mentioned a couple of times in the thread, but for a med-mal suit to be viable, first it must be shown that if it weren't for the late read, she wouldn't have died. I'm sorry - I really am - but that's just not the case here.

The time-stamp isn't really as big of an issue as it might seem. Current statistics show that over 1/3 of doctors have no set protocol when it comes to informing the patient of their test results. Crazy, isn't it? Maybe, but it's also legal.

I know how difficult this is to read. But in my opinion, the standard of care was met, and there is no case here.

 

[lesabre]

Okay. I do hear what you are saying. I bet you are relieved!

Yes Proserpina, the x Ray reports were indeed different from her previous report. The previous report did not show pulmonary edema or pneumonia.

I'll give it a rest now and pray to find peace with this. Thanks to all of you.

 

[Proserpina]

I actually really feel for you.

Losing a loved one is difficult, and much moreso if it seems that someone did something wrong or didn't do anything at all.

I think turning to your faith is going to be very helpful

At some point I'll regale everyone with the tale of me climbing over a snow bank (in heels and flimsy skirt, no less!) in order to scatter my late husband's ashes over the Red River in North Dakota. In February. After he passed on Christmas Day the previous year.

(Red 'block of ice' would be more accurate, but you get the gist).

I wish you all the peace in the world, lesabre.