Comments on: Defensive Medicine: Cautious Or Costly?
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- What a disappointment on the part of CBS and this report. It would have been more informative to explain what drives ''Defensive Medicine'', rather than describe it as some shortcoming or fault on behalf of doctors and other providers. Defensive Medicine is alive and well in medicine thanks to the constant threat of malpractice lawsuits. A missed diagnosis is one of the most common reasons for medical malpractice litigation in this country. The costs incurred by Defensive Medicine for a patient pale in comparison to the awards associated with cases involving missed diagnoses. The litigation in these cases also results in tremendous stress upon the provider, not to mention a permanent mark on their record even if the case settled and was a baseless, frivolous lawsuit. This in turn usually results in higher malpractice insurance premiums, and the vicious cycle perpetuates. I''m disappointed that CBS provided such a myopic view of a much more pervasive and complicated problem in health care. I would hope that there would be a similar profile on trial lawyers and their role in the exorbitant costs of health care and access to it in this country.
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- cride1: You are exactly right. I worked at a small hospital as a RN. My husband''s doctor didn''t catch his cancer at a regular checkup and my husband died from the cancer which had spread to his brain five months later. Did I sue...no. The doctor apologized to me over and over but I didn''t and don''t blame him.
Patients have the right to refuse tests but doctors should get it in writing from the patient to prevent lawsuits. - Reply to this comment
- Here is the question though. the average cost of a cat scan is $1000-1,5000 dollars. i had one taken six months ago for $600 dollars. the equipment is expensive but it is amortized, the test itself is given by a technician, so my question is why $6,500 for a test that rarely takes more that 20 minutes. i would strongly challenge the hospital bill.
does medicine have excesses?? yes. too much cosmetic surgery, probably too much surgery in general, but cat scans??, of the problems we are facing this evening overuse of cat scans isn''t one of them. and to suggest that you should ignore pain, and then question each test before it is given, is just plain irresponsible.
i know that ms. couric, who was absent tonight would have led with ''a cat scan for a headache?''. turns out that a headache is often a precursor to a stroke. me..i am glad the technology is available. the lesson is to have long relationship wich doctors who can tell ''what is different'', and doctors that you know well and trust. in a college population of 10 or 15 thousand students, that just is not possible. - Reply to this comment
- dear rick kaplan,
whoa...hang on for a second. first there are a great number of conditions that can be treated if found early and treated quickly. cancer is at the top of that list. does anyone know what percentage of people having tightness in their chest make it alive to the hospital?? under 40%. the point is that pain is something to be understood, not ignored as you suggest. cats scan''s and mri are rarely used indiscriminately. they are both remarkable diagnostic tools. - Reply to this comment
- I don''t blame doctors practicing unnecessary defensive medicine. Why? Because there are so many frivolous lawsuits and the only way for the doctors to protect themselves really is to play it safe no matter the cost. Fortunately, this is a method to shift the cost onto the patient so that they will think twice before going for a frivolous lawsuit.
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