Conflict between “team” and patient/advocate was the cause of #5 on The List of the latest National Institute for Patient Rights survey. Patients and their advocates have a right to know of realistic care alternatives when hospital care is no longer appropriate. Some participants observed that no one ever approached them about realistic care alternatives in the event that hospital care was no longer appropriate.
Not only was there no discussion of alternative care options, but many respondents complained about how they were made to feel when they disagreed with providers about the continued appropriateness of hospital care. One respondent noted, “They made us feel like we were immoral when we questioned their treatment recommendations!”
Conflict was also the cause of violations #6 and #7, violations of a right to know hospital rules on charges and payment methods, and a right to review the hospital bill, have information explained, and get a copy of the bill. Said one respondent, “It was like pulling teeth to try to get an explanation of certain charges. I still don’t know why I was charged for things I know we didn’t use.”
Recommendations For Caregivers And Their Interactions With Others.....
As one who did patient care before becoming a medical salesmen, I'd like to offer the following recommendations to those patient caregivers who are perhaps new to thier profession. Welcome to the U.S. Health Care System, And your vocational choice to restore the health of others:
1. Do not let those who work for the pharmacetical or medical device industries, for example, interfere with or take priority over patient care if they happen to be at your location where this is being performed.
2. Do not let such members of these industries befriend your staff to gain access to health care providers that work with them who are helping your patients with medical needs.
3. Do have nurses and health care providers only accept drug samples from drug reps. No literature of any kind from them should be accepted. Likely, any clinical information the drug rep may have regarding the drug samples he or she may leave you is inaccurate.
4. Do let those you work with know they have a right to refuse interaction with the members of these medical industries in their practice location.
5. Do not answer questions from drug reps about what doctors prefer prescribing for their patients as it relates to their promoted pharmaceuticals- or anything else about the health care providers at your location, for that matter.
6. Do not accept any promotional material from these salespeople unless it is truly beneficial for your patients, without branding on the material offered to members who work at your clinic or medical institution.
7. Do let the nurses know that drug reps. are clearly not in your clinical setting to facilitate patient care in any way. Rather, their sole purpose is to increase the volume of what they are promoting.
8. Do let others who you work wth that, if asked by medical representatives to have a disease screening day of some sort at your facility, or has invitations for such a screening for you or others to attend, to refuse this request by the salesperson. Such screenings are conducted by front groups to expand the diagnostic boundaries of a particular disease state, and not to help your patients.
9. Do make others you may work with aware, or reiterate to them, that generic drugs are preferred over branded drugs for many reasons for your patients, which include reduced cost, along with clinical experience with the drug that no longer has a patent. Generic versions of such previously expensive drugs will have the safety and efficacy your patients need to maintain their health. Such generic drugs are listed in what is called The Orange Book.
10. Do let your staff know that medical reps have in their posession the prescribing or buying habits of your health care providers, and will tailor their interactions with them based on this data.
11. Do let others you may work with know that the medical sales reps are, overall, decent and friendly people who are just doing what they are instructed to do by their employer. Yet you should make those you work with aware that what medical sales reps may attempt to implement with their activities could be detrimental to the health of your patients, if such a situation develops.
11. Do let those you may work with know that medical representatives who may be in your patient treatment area cannot question doctors about what they may choose to prescribe for their patients. Also, such representatives should be aware that their time at your patient treatment area is limited.
12. Do let others you may work with know that there are doctors who receive inducements, incentives, rebates, and remuneration from particular drug reps. These gifts that are actually bribes are largely based on the prescriber's affinity for the drug. rep's promoted products or the volume of prescriptions a doctor writes compared with other health care providers.
13. The potential consequences of accepting such bribes which the industry calls many things, including 'gifts', could have a negative effect on the health of patients and the choices of treatment for them. Such bribing may cloud the judgement of the health care providers who receive such gifts.
14. Let others you may work with know that pharmaceuticals are not the answer to all symptoms or medical conditions. This is of particular importance when it comes to the issue of utilizing psychotropic drugs and antibiotics, as drugs are very over-utilized in the United States.
15. Let others who may work with you know that they should make patient care paramount when they are treating their patients. The medical industry may entice them from thinking otherwise at times. In other words, patient caregivers as yourself and others should maintain and possess the idealism and passion straight out of school, however difficult this may be at times. As a patient caregiver, you may get overwhelmed at times.
16. Let others you may work with know that, in the U.S., medical reps. have little training, education, or clinical knowledge relevant to what they may be promoting, however may have charming personalities and appear to possess quality genetic stock. What they may share with you about their promoted products is likely embellished or fabricated, if not fully understood by the medical representative.
17. Let others you may work with know that whatever is done for or with patients should be entirely for their benefit, and not for the benefit of a medical company or a health care provider, if such a situation develops or are noticed.
18. Speaking from the perception of the situation in the U.S., there is a shortage of nurses, and the demands on them are cumbersome and exhausting as a result. Remind the nurses that you may work with that this situation should not affect the treatment and care they give their patients, as difficult as this may be for these nurses. The medical industry only amplifies this situation in various ways at certain times and locations. To say again, do not allow others to interfere with patient care.
19. Let others you may work with know that their vocations and efforts with helping those who lack ideal health are both noble and needed. You and what they do for others is what most others choose not to consider. Becoming a medical sales representative, for example.
20. "Nursing would be a dream job if there were no doctors." --- Imo Philips
Dan Abshear
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Posted by: Dan | March 01, 2009 at 10:26 PM