Quote:
Originally Posted by creekster
You should have been a trial lawyer. THis is exactly the sort of emotional approach that results in the so-called outrageous results you so dislike. You know very well that the range of defensive medcine rarely includes a CT and frequently includes other types of screeingin (blood tests, etc) that are not likely to cause rare and deadly carcinomas. Moreover, I expect a doctor to tell me the risks that are known for all treatment. If a docotr believes that a possible test has risks that are equivalent to or greater than the risk of the injury that might be detected, I expect to be told that. Are you suggesting, btw, that the 35 year old with cancer should be able to sue the docotr for that test? Mayeb this would, over time, result in the elimination of dangerous defensive testing?
|
Are you kidding me? Overuse of CT's is one of the chief differences between us and the rest of the world. That's why this debate is raging right now in medicine. We all know we're ordering way too many CT's but until the malpractice situation is fixed, we're not stopping. Failure to CT is absolutely is one of the chief causes of lawsuits--whether it's head injury, appendicitis, bowel obstruction. I bet I order 5 needless CT's a shift; and I'm on the low end.
Yes, I think the doctor should be responsible for causing the thyroid carcinoma. Problem is, that's 30 yrs down the road--he's done practicing by then. What would you do in his place?
Need another example? You're 55. You come in with chest pain. It's sharp, lasted only a few minutes, no family history of heart disease. In Indiana, you're discharged, even knowing that there's always a small non-zero chance that you had a heart attack. In Detroit, you're either admitted to the hospital, or more likely, you're watched in the ER for 6-12 hours while serial tests are drawn. No, you don't have a choice, even though the chance this was a heart attack is next to nothing. You want to go home, you sign out against advice (and you'll cover that bill yourself). Wonder why the ER's are overcrowded?
I'm just getting started. If you think these are isolated examples, we can keep playing.