33 hours ago · July 20, 2010 2:40 pm. July 20, 2010 2:40 pm. We’ve all seen our doctors scribbling in our charts after the exam. Now new research is exploring whether it’s a good idea to let a patient read the doctor’s notes, reports the Informed Patient column in today’s Wall Street Journal. A study currently under way, called the OpenNotes project, is looking at what happens … >> Go To The Portal
Any doctor who would write a derogatory comment about a patient in a medical chart is a fool who deserves whatever consequences he/she gets for it. Medical charts are legal documents that can be reviewed by peers, insurance companies, the legal system, and by the patients themselves.
Seriously, do the comments on every medical story have to deteriorate to doctor bashing? The point of the story is that access to medical records has benefits and challenges. Most doctors would never write disparaging comments about their patients in a medical record. It is a legal document.
The DMV must notify the impacted driver in writing of its final decision. Under California law, doctors are required to report anyone to the DMV who suffers from any medical or mental condition that may impact his/her ability to drive safely. What is a doctor’s duty to report medical conditions to the DMV?
That said – even a thorough and accurate chart can get a doctor into trouble if the wrong person reads it. My own doctor would write RO – . He would then give me a lab test slip and tell me to wait 2 weeks and get the test if I didn’t feel better by then. It turns out RO means “rule out”.
A patient report is a medical report that is comprehensive and encompasses a patient's medical history and personal details. It's often written when they go to a health service provider for a medical consultation. Government or health insurance providers may also request it if they need it for administration reasons.
Yes. Under federal privacy rules, doctors can give the press (and the public at large) only the most general information about a patient, called “directory information.” They can confirm that a specific patient has been admitted to the hospital, and they can give a short assessment of his overall condition.
If you have questions about what choices you have, ask your doctor. You can specify your desires through legal documents called advance directives. In general, the best time to talk with your doctor about these issues is while you are still relatively healthy.
A hospital may notify a patient's personal representative about their admission or discharge and share other PHI with the personal representative without limitation.
As the patient, you are entitled to know the results of your medical exams. All medical professionals are held to a high standard of medical care. That standard of care includes informing patients of the outcome of any medical test or examination, such as a colonoscopy or a mammogram.
Forbid any reference to the client's first name, last name, or description to protect their identity. It doesn't just stop at talking about patients without using names, there's more that needs to take place. Obviously, continue to reiterate that gossiping about patients isn't allowed at your practice.
There are numerous measures – such as medical tests, physical exams and the patient's history – that can also be used to produce a statistical likelihood of surviving a specific length of time.
The 10 Worst Things Patients Can Say to PhysiciansAnything that is not 100 percent truthful. ... Anything condescending, loud, hostile, or sarcastic. ... Anything related to your health care when we are off the clock. ... Complaining about other doctors. ... Anything that is a huge overreaction.More items...•
Here are 5 questions every medical practice should ask when a new patient arrives.What Are Your Medical and Surgical Histories? ... What Prescription and Non-Prescription Medications Do You Take? ... What Allergies Do You Have? ... What Is Your Smoking, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use History? ... Have You Served in the Armed Forces?
Observation is a special service or status that allows physicians to place a patient in an acute care setting, within the hospital, for a limited amount of time to determine the need for inpatient admission. The patient will receive periodic monitoring by the hospital's nursing staff while in observation.
There are a few scenarios where you can disclose PHI without patient consent: coroner's investigations, court litigation, reporting communicable diseases to a public health department, and reporting gunshot and knife wounds.
0:131:21Hospital Basics : How to Locate Someone at a Hospital - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipTell them the name. Tell them the problem. And they can probably locate your person right away forMoreTell them the name. Tell them the problem. And they can probably locate your person right away for you once you get up on the floor that they're on look for a nurse's station.
Multiple vague complaints. Noncompliant. Morbidly obese. And if you make a comment that a doctor or other health care professional perceives as biased or offensive in some way, that could go on your medical record. Whether positive or negative, it can follow you without your knowledge.
Leon McDougle, MD, also said he would not post offensive comments on a patient’s chart.
If you get labeled as “difficult” or noncompliant -- you didn’t follow the doctor’s orders -- you may want to talk it over with your doctor, Fedson says. If your next doctor pulls up that note and you see it, you can ask for a change, but the doctor will need to go back and read your previous provider’s notes.
A new survey from WebMD/Medscape, in collaboration with STAT, found that that 59% of doctors have heard an offensive remark about their appearance in the past 5 years. Of that number, nearly a quarter noted those remarks on a patient’s medical record.
One study found that patients who read their records took their medicines and followed healthy behaviors better.
Ideally, the doctor would add something to that effect. He can’t change a note once it’s there, though.
Your medical record is a medical and legal document. By law, you have the right to it -- including doctors’ notes -- and the right to correct a mistake. But they can be difficult to get. Even electronic information may be inaccurate or incomplete, found a study from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
B did, that the information will be shared with another party. However, in situations in which this information might further agitate or anger the patient, physicians might decide not to disclose that they are reporting in the interest of their own safety or that of a third party.
One type of exception involves threats made by a patient to harm him- or herself or another person . HIPAA’s implementing regulations allow disclosure of PHI when disclosure “is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public; and … is to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat” [6]. The persons “reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat” might be law enforcement, family members, or the victims themselves. The key term “imminent” is not defined, but in studies of violence prediction, imminence has been taken to mean time measured in days to months [7]. In addition to the HIPAA exception for imminent danger, most states have laws that mandate or permit disclosure of PHI in the event of a threat [8].
Depending on their personal experience with guns, physicians might have varying levels of concern about or comfort with the implications of a firearm’s involvement in a given case . They might also be hesitant to question a patient further on the topic, as they might be concerned about offending the patient by asking about what many perceive to be a private issue. However, ascertaining the types of guns owned, how they are stored, and if the patient has any intentions of using them are important components of risk assessment.
For example, California Civil Code 43.92, known as the “Tarasoff statute,” requires that if a patient makes “a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim” to a psychotherapist, that psychotherapist is required to take steps to protect the intended victim [18].
Mandatory reporting of persons believed to be at imminent risk for committing violence or attempting suicide can pose an ethical dilemma for physicians, who might find themselves struggling to balance various conflicting interests. Legal statutes dictate general scenarios that require mandatory reporting to supersede confidentiality requirements, but physicians must use clinical judgment to determine whether and when a particular case meets the requirement. In situations in which it is not clear whether reporting is legally required, the situation should be analyzed for its benefit to the patient and to public safety. Access to firearms can complicate these situations, as firearms are a well-established risk factor for violence and suicide yet also a sensitive topic about which physicians and patients might have strong personal beliefs.
In-home strategies to reduce firearm access include the use of various locking devices and disassembling the firearm. If Thomas is unwilling to temporarily turn his guns over to someone else for safekeeping, Dr. B could bring up options such as lockboxes, cable locks, or gun safes to reduce immediate access [17].
For example, the physician could say, “Some gun owners with suicidal thoughts choose to make their gun less accessible. Are you interested in talking about that?” [14]. Use of the “designated driver” analogy might be helpful, as this concept—of not having the car keys while temporarily at risk of crashing—is one most have heard of. When faced with an analogous situation of a person temporarily at increased risk of violence or suicide, a physician could consider counseling the patient without directly asking about firearm access, as the questioning (and recording of responses in the medical record) might be particularly uncomfortable for some patients [15].
Over decades, doctors have ad-libbed a whole vocabulary to encode their frustrations with problem patients, communicate grim status updates, or even gossip about children.
Other patients become common faces in emergency rooms and clinics because of their hypochondriacs tendencies, constantly sure that they are gravely ill.
The secret codes doctors use to INSULT their patients right in front of them - and why the lingo harms your health care. Doctors revealed some of the acronyms and made-up medical terminology medical professionals use to describe patients to one another. The phrases range from darkly funny, to rude, to downright racist.
A 2008 study from the National Institutes of Health also found that women wait 16 minutes longer to be seen in an emergency room than men do.
This 'classic' term stands for 'get [them] out of my emergency room.' It has been used in hospitals for decades and is familiar to just about every doctor working, Dr Muennig says.
Not to be confused with the dance style, doctors use 'crumping' when they have a patient that is 'crashing, but not aggressively,' the Chicago doctor told Daily Mail Online.
What's so funny: Doctors might get a laugh out of using codes to insult patients to their faces, but experts say that the harm this discrimination does to health care is no joke
Say nothing and let it be. Calling someone on their insulting behavior, if you aren't sure it was intended, can create more problems later if you embarrass them or make them angry.
The insulted party is the person who receives the insult, the person who hears, sees, or experiences it and takes offense.
Change healthcare providers, leave the practice, or choose a different hospital or testing center if no action is taken. Lack of respect or response to your complaint is a further indication of how it was you could have been insulted and indicates that it could happen again.
Ask the person to repeat the insult to be sure you heard it clearly and it was clearly intended to be insulting. "Pardon me? Would you repeat what you just said to me please?"
If someone is prone to being insulting and rude, they may also be prone to making up stories and certainly trying to defend themselves. If the insult was truly egregious and clearly intended, make the practice manager or practice owner aware of the problem in writing.
You may feel insulted by something they have said or done, feeling as if judgment has been passed on you that is unfair and should not have been passed.
If you feel your treatment, verbal or physical, was abusive, and it could have a negative effect on other patients, then you may want to file a more formal, written complaint to authorities who license or hire the doctor. Respectful communication is required in all healthcare interactions. Don't settle for anything less.
“If a therapist fails to take reasonable steps to protect the intended victim from harm, he or she may be liable to the intended victim or his family if the patient acts on the threat ,” Reischer said.
Therapists are held to very high ethical standards by their governing state board and a violation of those ethics could result in fines, loss of licensure, or even jail time , said Walwyn-Duqesnay. While each state has its own set of guidelines and regulations on what its mental health professionals are required to report, there are common themes that transcend across the country.
Therapy is where you can share your deepest, darkest secrets, fears and vulnerabilities with the expectation that you won’t be judged and what you say won’t be shared. In fact, that’s the whole point of the whole process.
In the case of suspected child abuse, therapists must file a report if they have “reasonable suspicion” about child abuse.
Cinéas said a therapist may have to step in and report a situation when vulnerable people are threatened, which could include children, elderly individuals and those living with a disability.
“If a client experienced child abuse but is now 18 years of age then the therapist is not required to make a child abuse report, unless the abuser is currently abusing other minors,” Mayo said.
A therapist may be forced to report information disclosed by the patient if a patient reveals their intent to harm someone else. However, this is not as simple as a patient saying simply they “would like to kill someone,” according to Jessica Nicolosi, a clinical psychologist in Rockland County, New York. There has to be intent plus a specific identifiable party who may be threatened.
do nothing (if the Department finds that the driver poses no safety risk), ask for further medical information, conduct a “ reexamination hearing ,” or. in rare cases, immediately suspend or revoke the person’s driving privileges. The DMV must notify the impacted driver in writing of its final decision.
This form requires the driver to provide the DMV with a comprehensive health history. The driver must complete and return the DME within 26 days. The driver has to sign the DME under penalty of prosecution for the California crime of perjury.
The DMV will then review the DME. If it determines that the driver does not pose a safety risk, it will take no further action.
After receiving a report about a driver, the DMV will conduct an initial safety risk assessment of the driver.
macular degeneration. These conditions are a common cause of driver’s license suspensions for elderly drivers. But drivers of all ages can be affected. Once the DMV receives a report from a physician regarding a driver’s inability to drive safely, it can take any of the following actions:
Most states require physicians to inform the DMV when they diagnose a patient with any medical or mental condition that may affect the person’s ability to drive safely.
This is an in-person evaluation to determine if a driver has the physical and mental skills to drive a car safely. The hearing takes place at a local California DMV driver safety office and it is conducted by a DMV hearing officer. The hearing officer may do any of the following after conducting the hearing: