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Does this make any sense?

K

kewpon addict

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So when I went to the ER late fri. night they were swamped and the doc didn't see me til almost 4 hrs. after I'd been admitted...the doc comes in and says sorry, blah blah...she looks in my ears and says looks like you have a slight ear infection...you have a lot of wax in one ear and the other just looks bad. OK. She says: we'll run some tests and tells the nurse to give me meds in the IV. Nurse doesn't bother and leaves...later on the dr. comes back again and says I'm sorry, the nurse didn't think you needed the meds and went home since her shift was over...I'm going to try to get the new nurse to do it...so eventually the new chick comes in and does it. Well it gets busy again and the dr. never comes back in. The new nurse was like your tests are fine so you can go. I say to the nurse, the dr. said my ears looked like they had an infection do I get any medication? She says, she didn't prescribe anything and since YOU have no health insurance I don't see why it matters...the tech who was in taking my food tray said when the nurse left: You should write a letter to the hospital board, that lady can't talk to you like that...I said, that doesn't bother me, what bothers me is the fact that the nurse ignored my question about meds. The tech says push the call button and ask again. So I did..nurse comes back in and says the dr. said she didn't see the need to give you meds so, off you go. She gives me discharge papers and leaves...nothing on the papers about a 'script but if I have an ear infection you would think I would get some meds, right? Maybe I will try caling and see if I can talk to the dr. who saw me. Just frustrated because I am still dizzy and not feeling good. blah.
 
:huggy: I'm so sorry you feel so lousy and I'm sorry your treatment was messed up like that. I hope you can get to the bottom of it all.
 
Slightly different, but I know our pediatrician doesn't prescribe antibiotics for minor ear infections. She says minor ones heal on their own and too much antibiotics leads to resistance of them. So she only prescribes them for really bad ear infections.
 
Medical profession is not perfect in any way but I will try to explain some things. 4 hours wait to be seen in a swamped ED is good. And truly it has NOTHING to do with insurance. When you came in shortly after arriving you were probably assessed for the seriousness of your problem. Dizziness is a symptom of many things both serious and benign. I work at the hospital where I was in the ER a few weeks ago and I waited 6 hours to be seen. You say you had some tests done and were examined and told you had a slight ear infection. Sad to say but sometimes patients are told slight-meaning there is hardly anything there at all. If you did get some sort of meds in your IV by the second nurse, presumably antibiotics, then maybe this is all you need to see if it clears up. It is a misconception (and as we have seen by the need to keep formulating stronger antibiotics) and a misuse of antibiotics to prescibe them so often. And I am sure I am going to get blasted for this post but maybe to the medical staff, this wasn't an emergency. Sure you didn't and still don't feel well, but they ran preliminary tests and gave you a dose of meds. The motto of EDs is "treat them and street them". I do wish the doctor came back and explained things to you and that the nurse didn't make a rude comment about insurance. Everyone should be treated the same whether you have the best insurance or none.
 
First, omg! :huggy:
kewpon addict said:
the tech who was in taking my food tray said when the nurse left: You should write a letter to the hospital board, that lady can't talk to you like that..
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Ok, that nurse was flat out rude & wrong. She deserves to be fired. Shouldn't matter whether you have insurance or not. Any hospital that accepts federal funding must treat every patient, insured or not, and all with the utmost of care, concern & civility.

Definitely DO write a letter to the hospital's president & Board. You should be able to find the names on the hosp web site. Letters about care carry a tremendous weight with any hospital, they view it like 1 letter represents hundreds of patients.


If you want to try to contact the ED doc who treated you, again try the hospital's website for contact info. It is usually under 'find a doctor' or staffing in Emergency Medicine.
 
Insurance or not, they should have told you what was going on and why.

With 4 boys we go to the ER more than I would like and like Carol said, 4 hours is not too bad as far as waiting. If you go when there's a full moon or on a weekend, you could have a REALLY long wait. Especially if they did the initial assessment and all they came back with was an ear infection. You probably got staff wondering why you went to the ER instead of a "doc in a box" (CVS, Walgeens or even a Convenient Care Center). There's not an excuse, that's probably what they were thinking.

I ONLY go to the ER if it's something that I think they can't handle at one of those places, like a broken bone. Inevitably, the ER doc can't see it on the x-ray anyway, and then we end up going to the Orthopedic doctor anyway.

If this really bothers you, I would write a letter documenting when you went in and expressing your concerns. At least then you would have tried to prevent it from happening again.
 
I don't find it harsh at all. I worked in administration running 3 hospital EDs for almost 20 years, and very closely with the medical heads of the ED departments.

Rudeness by staff to patients was not tolerated & I KNOW the weight patient letters carry with hospital presidents.

That nurse had no business talking to any patient like that. If she can't be fired, a letter of reprimand can be inserted in her file towards the magic union sanctioned cutoff where she will be terminated if that behavior persists.
 
I have no problem with the length of wait. All patients are triaged upon arrival at the ED and are then seen according to seriousness of their condition, ie life & death are seen first, everyone else as they can. It never is first come, first served. It is an ED, not a deli.
 
Not complaining about the wait, I completely understand and yes there were people with much worse conditions than me...of course they should be treated first they are worse off....no I was just complaining about the fact that no one followed through on the 'script or no 'script...I do think the nurse was out of line...it was NONE of her business....I NEVER told the nurse I didn't have health insurance, I know **** well it was on the screen though so I know she saw it. My only issue was the lack of follow up regarding discharge and of course she was way out of line...but I am used to this now...And to answer boyzrus I don't even have the 70 or 80 bucks that wags charges now just for them to tell me the same thing. Plus I wanted some tests done which wags couldn't do. So that is why I went to the ER...peeps can blast obamacare all they want but when you are uninsured you are ****ED when it comes to needing healthcare assistance since there is really no where to go.

Lotsacoups said:
Medical profession is not perfect in any way but I will try to explain some things. 4 hours wait to be seen in a swamped ED is good. And truly it has NOTHING to do with insurance. When you came in shortly after arriving you were probably assessed for the seriousness of your problem. Dizziness is a symptom of many things both serious and benign. I work at the hospital where I was in the ER a few weeks ago and I waited 6 hours to be seen. You say you had some tests done and were examined and told you had a slight ear infection. Sad to say but sometimes patients are told slight-meaning there is hardly anything there at all. If you did get some sort of meds in your IV by the second nurse, presumably antibiotics, then maybe this is all you need to see if it clears up. It is a misconception (and as we have seen by the need to keep formulating stronger antibiotics) and a misuse of antibiotics to prescibe them so often. And I am sure I am going to get blasted for this post but maybe to the medical staff, this wasn't an emergency. Sure you didn't and still don't feel well, but they ran preliminary tests and gave you a dose of meds. The motto of EDs is "treat them and street them". I do wish the doctor came back and explained things to you and that the nurse didn't make a rude comment about insurance. Everyone should be treated the same whether you have the best insurance or none.
Click to expand...
 
Have you tried and applied for public aid? I know you work for a non profit and your DH just got laid off. I would hope you would qualify for something??
 
nicklesm17 said:
Have you tried and applied for public aid? I know you work for a non profit and your DH just got laid off. I would hope you would qualify for something??
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I am in the process of reapplying but they recently lowered the limits for IL so not sure...Thanks for asking!
 
kewpon addict said:
I am in the process of reapplying but they recently lowered the limits for IL so not sure...Thanks for asking!
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Apply for EVERYTHING. And don't let anybody make you feel bad.There is nothing wrong with needing a helping hand up.

I hope things start on the upswing for you guys. Soon :)
 
nicklesm17 said:
Apply for EVERYTHING. And don't let anybody make you feel bad.There is nothing wrong with needing a helping hand up.

I hope things start on the upswing for you guys. Soon :)
Click to expand...

Thanks girl! I don't feel bad anymore, I work a job, technically almost full time, my DH works a job normally(right now unemployed) we have paid into the system for yrs....I used to feel guilty and so on but why should I? I LITERALLY cannot afford health care right now and have many preexisting health conditions...I am NOT a deadbeat and I am a working person...People have harassed me, given me dirty looks and treated me like a 2nd class citizen but other than the aggravation they have caused me at the time I feel like I can live with it....you REALLY NEVER KNOW the story behind someone's life...I know the truth and that's all that matters. For every person who abuses the system there is someone who uses it legitimately.
 
Off the topic, you mention that you feel dizzy. Is it possible that you have inner ear fluid imbalance? My mom suffers from this condition, and her doctor prescribes a medication for her. This medication works quite well & my mom carries this with her at all time.

*************************************************************

INNER EAR FLUID IMBALANCE
An inner ear fluid imbalance can be characterized by dizziness ( or vertigo), ringing in the ears (or
tinnitus), fullness in the ears, or hearing loss. Patients can have some or all of the above symptoms.
When patients have all of the symptoms this condition is sometimes called Meniere's Disease. The cause
of this condition is unknown, but predisposing factors include ear infection, allergy, head injury, and
positive family history.
The inner ear is a delicate membranous structure surrounded by a bony hard shell. The two components
of this system are the hearing organ ( or cochlea) and the balance organ (semicircular canals). These two
systems are very near one another and share the same fluid system. Movements of this fluid move and
distend the membranes allowing us to hear and maintain proper balance. This fluid is constantly being
recycled and contains specific concentrations of minerals such as sodium ( salt). If too much fluid is
produced, or not enough fluid is resorbed, then this is thought to cause an inner ear fluid imbalance. Also,
eating food rich in salt can upset this delicate balance.
An inner ear fluid imbalance is diagnosed by performing a history, physical examination, and hearing test.
Sometimes other tests are also necessary such as as ABR test, balance test, or an MRI scan. Treatment
of an inner ear fluid imbalance involves following a strict low salt diet and taking water pill such as
Dyazide. It may take several weeks for the treatment to show a noticeable benefit. It is important to
restrict salt intake to 1500-2000 milligrams per day. This is more than just not using the salt shaker at
meals. Many foods contain salt, especially pork products, chinese food, cheese, frozen dinners, and
snacks such as potato chips. Also most restaurants and fast food places use a lot of salt. Most people
with an inner ear fluid imbalance who closely follow these recommendations will do very well. People with
severe symptoms not responding to medication and a low salt diet may respond to surgery.

http://www.meddean.luc.edu/depts/otolaryn/patient_ed/pdf/ENT INNER EAR FLUID IMBALANCE.pdf
 
littlebuffalo my neighbor has that and takes a sinus pill which helps a ton.
 
kewpon addict said:
I am in the process of reapplying but they recently lowered the limits for IL so not sure...Thanks for asking!
Click to expand...



They removed some services and added some copays (under $3), they did not significantly change the income limits.

Limit for a family of 3 is $2116 per month. Regardless of income you will qualify for womancare and contraceptives. Just apply online, temporary coverage is available in days. Also you can document previous expenses and they will pay them.
 
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