Anesthesiologist Sued For Talking ****

[Doc]

Just because she was insulting him, it doesn't mean his care was compromised in any way, shape, or form.

[Rob's House]

 

It's not about destroying anyone's livelihood -- people have short memories, she can recover. It's about upholding the expectation that medical professionals have standards of conduct beyond what the vast majority of us do at work. She did in fact threaten his health by not following protocol as carefully as possible, it just didn't cost him. There are thousands of documented cases of practitioners not following protocol where the results were catastrophic for the patient.

 

I understand the anti-mob argument you're making, but IMO this case is a poor example. This isn't a case of being misunderstood or misquoted. It wasn't a drunk twitter. She knowingly acted in a grossly unprofessional manner at the critical moments of her job and is now paying the price. People certainly have a right to know what to expect from their medical practitioners so public reaction is part of that price.

I completely disagree. If we put hidden microphones in everyone's office and held everyone to this standard there's be millions of people out of work.

 

Also, I've never liked the argument that anything short of the most stringent adherence to safety is worthy of harsh judgment. We do that to guys who have a few drinks and drive home, but if we really believed that bull **** we wouldn't have radios and CD players in cars.

 

And I don't buy the increased professionalism requirement in the medical field either. You have increased responsibility with regard to confidentiality, but any responsibility not to make fun of their patients behind their backs (which is really what we're talking about here) exists only in your head.

[Maury Ballstein]

Just because she was insulting him, it doesn't mean his care was compromised in any way, shape, or form.

 

This

 

Any complications from visit or nah ? Pay that man. Lol. Ridiculous.

 

Lady was a little fired up and frisky at work one day, we've all made inappropriate comments at work one time or another.

 

Go Internet ! Changing the world, one Donald Sterling at a time.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Ryan L Billz

[NoSaint]

I completely disagree. If we put hidden microphones in everyone's office and held everyone to this standard there's be millions of people out of work.

 

Also, I've never liked the argument that anything short of the most stringent adherence to safety is worthy of harsh judgment. We do that to guys who have a few drinks and drive home, but if we really believed that bull **** we wouldn't have radios and CD players in cars.

 

And I don't buy the increased professionalism requirement in the medical field either. You have increased responsibility with regard to confidentiality, but any responsibility not to make fun of their patients behind their backs (which is really what we're talking about here) exists only in your head.

The only place I diverge here is I think a purposeful misdiagnosis should be pretty serious regardless of the illness lied about. It's got to be a huge bright line that cannot be crossed. As a sports comp point it's like a gambling offense for the industry.

 

The etiquette stuff- whatever. I don't much care about hurt feelings but the trust of diagnosis can't be broken as it's the integrity of the entire field.

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Seems to me like the judge did not correctly apply Virginia's one party consent rule. That rule would allow the patient to secretly record any conversation that the patient participated in. So if the patient had a post-op consultation with his doctor in which both parties were speaking, the patient could clearly secretly record that. And I suppose even if the patient said nothing, the patient could also secretly record any post-op instructions that the doctor spoke to the patient, because the words spoken were directed to the conscious patient, so the patient was still, in some sense, a "party" to what was said.

 

But even if it was recorded on a different part of the same tape, if the insulting comments were made during a conversation between the medical staff personnel while the patient was unconscious, I don't see how the patient can claim to be a participant in the conversation where the insults were made.

 

The intentional falsification of the medical records would still be a problem for the medical staff involved, but it seems to me like the jury should not have heard the secretly recorded insults.

 

Can't say that I'll be shedding any tears for the anesthesiologist, though. Karma's a b**ch.

[Rob's House]

The only place I diverge here is I think a purposeful misdiagnosis should be pretty serious regardless of the illness lied about. It's got to be a huge bright line that cannot be crossed. As a sports comp point it's like a gambling offense for the industry.

 

The etiquette stuff- whatever. I don't much care about hurt feelings but the trust of diagnosis can't be broken as it's the integrity of the entire field.

I agree with you. I don't know to what end it was falsified, but the lawsuit and article focused mostly on the talking so that's what I was referring to.

[FireChan]

The only place I diverge here is I think a purposeful misdiagnosis should be pretty serious regardless of the illness lied about. It's got to be a huge bright line that cannot be crossed. As a sports comp point it's like a gambling offense for the industry.

 

The etiquette stuff- whatever. I don't much care about hurt feelings but the trust of diagnosis can't be broken as it's the integrity of the entire field.

Without knowing more about the "misdiagnosis," commenting may be premature. For all we know, the guy had a history of them.

[ExiledInIllinois]

I completely disagree. If we put hidden microphones in everyone's office and held everyone to this standard there's be millions of people out of work.

 

Also, I've never liked the argument that anything short of the most stringent adherence to safety is worthy of harsh judgment. We do that to guys who have a few drinks and drive home, but if we really believed that bull **** we wouldn't have radios and CD players in cars.

 

And I don't buy the increased professionalism requirement in the medical field either. You have increased responsibility with regard to confidentiality, but any responsibility not to make fun of their patients behind their backs (which is really what we're talking about here) exists only in your head.

One time @ work I was on the old intercom talking to my co-worker @ the other end of the lock. We had a bunch of drunk pleasure boaters in the pit. My co-worker was: "Dump it and flush these drunk douchebags outta here!" Little did he know that the PA was on. LMAO... Anyway, he'd probably get no argument from the sober boaters!

 

I agree a little w/what you say... But KD is right. They are putting a person an inch from death (and under) and then messing around... That's not cool. Safety goes hand in hand w/professionalism, just as I would never have truly listened to my co-worker and wildly flush a bunch of drunk boaters out of the lock. They were already without many of their faculties, had blinders on... That's when accidents get accentuated. Obviously, it was not as critical in my case, but who knows what could have happened. A another would love to snap peoples lines and float vessels around like a spinning top when they pissed them off.

 

It is simply unacceptable when you have somebody's life hanging in the balance.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ExiledInIllinois

[dpberr]

The doctor did not have control over his procedure area during the procedure. That's problem #1.

 

She falsified medical reports. That's a bigger problem #2.

 

Office protocol was not followed for an anesthetized patient. Why any patient would still have a phone on him (and regular clothing) in the procedure room, again shows extreme sloppiness and lack of care.

 

If the patient went into sudden cardiac arrest, sudden drop in blood pressure or other emergency situation, both the unfocused doctor and anesthesiologist were in poor position to respond immediately to it.

 

I know she's the focus of the story but it's he that's really at fault here.

[Doc]

One time @ work I was on the old intercom talking to my co-worker @ the other end of the lock. We had a bunch of drunk pleasure boaters in the pit. My co-worker was: "Dump it and flush these drunk douchebags outta here!" Little did he know that the PA was on. LMAO... Anyway, he'd probably get no argument from the sober boaters!

 

I agree a little w/what you say... But KD is right. They are putting a person an inch from death (and under) and then messing around... That's not cool. Safety goes hand in hand w/professionalism, just as I would never have truly listened to my co-worker and wildly flush a bunch of drunk boaters out of the lock. They were already without many of their faculties, had blinders on... That's when accidents get accentuated. Obviously, it was not as critical in my case, but who knows what could have happened. A another would love to snap peoples lines and float vessels around like a spinning top when they pissed them off.

 

It is simply unacceptable when you have somebody's life hanging in the balance.

The doctor did not have control over his procedure area during the procedure. That's problem #1.

 

She falsified medical reports. That's a bigger problem #2.

 

Office protocol was not followed for an anesthetized patient. Why any patient would still have a phone on him (and regular clothing) in the procedure room, again shows extreme sloppiness and lack of care.

 

If the patient went into sudden cardiac arrest, sudden drop in blood pressure or other emergency situation, both the unfocused doctor and anesthesiologist were in poor position to respond immediately to it.

 

I know she's the focus of the story but it's he that's really at fault here.

I can assure you that we anesthesiologists (who are MD's in case you didn't know that) can talk and perform safe anesthesia at the same time. And the patient didn't suffer any complications.

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

I can assure you that we anesthesiologists (who are MD's in case you didn't know that) can talk and perform safe anesthesia at the same time. . . .

 

Sure Doc, just like people who talk on a hands-free cell phone connection can drive just as safely as those whose brains are fully engaged with the act of driving:

 

http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/distracted-driving-how-cell-phone-distracted-driving-affects-the-brain.aspx

 

 

• There is no safe way to use a cell phone while driving

  • Multitasking is a myth
  • Brain switches between tasks
  • Driving and talking are both thinking tasks
  • Can’t do both well if doing them at the same time

  ​Driving and talking on cell phone are both tasks that require a lot of thought. When doing both, your brain can’t do either well. For example, it’s nearly impossible to follow a TV show while speaking on the phone. Almost everyone has seen a driver distracted by a cell phone, but when you are the one who is distracted, you don’t realize that driver is you.

 

You have to either convince me that the national safety council position on increased driving risks when using a hands-free cell phone connection is wrong, or explain to me how practicing anesthesiology with an unconscious patient requires less concentration than driving.

 

Or does your "doctor" brain work differently than everybody else's?

Edited June 26, 2015 by ICanSleepWhenI'mDead

[Doc]

 

Sure Doc, just like people who talk on a hands-free cell phone connection can drive just as safely as those whose brains are fully engaged with the act of driving:

 

http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/distracted-driving-how-cell-phone-distracted-driving-affects-the-brain.aspx

 

 

 

You have to either convince me that the national safety council position on increased driving risks when using a hands-free cell phone connection is wrong, or explain to me how practicing anesthesiology with an unconscious patient requires less concentration than driving.

 

Or does your "doctor" brain work differently than everybody else's?

Delivering anesthesia isn't like driving a car. It's more like flying a plane.

 

And I wouldn't say everybody...

[bbb]

No wonder I woke up during surgery! I'm so lucky the pain one was still working, because the sleep one was not, and the memory loss one obviously didn't.

[ExiledInIllinois]

I can assure you that we anesthesiologists (who are MD's in case you didn't know that) can talk and perform safe anesthesia at the same time. And the patient didn't suffer any complications.

 

I am sure you can, just like any job... But when people's lives are hanging in the balance, the gratuitous behavior is and should be kept under wraps. Which in this case is every second the person is under. Other jobs of course offer more flexibility to joke around... But, when the game is on the line it should get serious. Kinda like how culture is preaching to act serious behind the wheel. No talking on cell phones, messing around, etc... Of course I am the first one to agree w/flexibility, but the societal trend and the tone of seriousness w/reagard to various activities does have merit! This specific case applies. This isn't a 1958 soap opera. It is zero-fail when it comes to joking around. Save it for the breakroom.

[Doc]

I am sure you can, just like any job... But when people's lives are hanging in the balance, the gratuitous behavior is and should be kept under wraps. Which in this case is every second the person is under. Other jobs of course offer more flexibility to joke around... But, when the game is on the line it should get serious. Kinda like how culture is preaching to act serious behind the wheel. No talking on cell phones, messing around, etc... Of course I am the first one to agree w/flexibility, but the societal trend and the tone of seriousness w/reagard to various activities does have merit! This specific case applies. This isn't a 1958 soap opera. It is zero-fail when it comes to joking around. Save it for the breakroom.

I already said above that gratuitous behavior should be kept under wraps and that writing a false diagnosis is inexcusable. But since no adverse outcome occurred, it's safe to say she was paying enough attention to him while she was insulting him. The question is whether insulting someone during a procedure is grounds for slander.

[Rob's House]

The doctor did not have control over his procedure area during the procedure. That's problem #1.

 

She falsified medical reports. That's a bigger problem #2.

 

Office protocol was not followed for an anesthetized patient. Why any patient would still have a phone on him (and regular clothing) in the procedure room, again shows extreme sloppiness and lack of care.

 

If the patient went into sudden cardiac arrest, sudden drop in blood pressure or other emergency situation, both the unfocused doctor and anesthesiologist were in poor position to respond immediately to it.

 

I know she's the focus of the story but it's he that's really at fault here.

If you apply your own philosophy to yourself you should, at a minimum, have your drivers license revoked. I'm sure you've changed radio stations while driving before. What if a kid ran out in the road and got killed so you could listen to Wilso Philips?

[Doc]

By the same token, I guess if you have passengers in your car, you shouldn't talk to them at all. IMHO that's worse than talking on a cell phone because the tendency is to look at the person to whom you are speaking, if not gesticulate.

[mead107]

Need to stop the bull **** lawsuits.

[NoSaint]

By the same token, I guess if you have passengers in your car, you shouldn't talk to them at all. IMHO that's worse than talking on a cell phone because the tendency is to look at the person to whom you are speaking, if not gesticulate.

And outlaw radio, billboards, etc....

[Maury Ballstein]

Need to stop the bull **** lawsuits.

This.