Replies

Years ago, I worked (for years) in a Chronic Care Hospital. We call then ‘LTACS.’ (Long term acute care hospitals.) Most Patients would recuperate with Physical Therapy and other interventions. Ordinarily this would be expected to be a process lasting a week or two, but resolving problems did not have deadlines.

It was obvious that we had a high number of ‘frequent flyers.’ Patients kept showing up with serious problems, particularly pain issues. They might last a week at home and then just show up again, repeatedly. The Nurses mostly would occasionally discuss this phenomenon. I typically listened to their expressed perceptions.

The consensus was that the acute care hospitals following surgery or whatever, were over prescribing pain killers to a lot of Patients. They were unable to wean them from these powerful medications. So, the solution was to ship them off to the LTACHs. Essentially, they were creating drug addicts and passing the problem along.

This was well recognized by many. The Pharmaceuticals almost certainly were OK with it because the expensive regulated drugs were in high use for these poor persons who were suffering due to Physician recklessness with their Rx practices. ‘Sew em up, move em out.’

It is an ugly aspect of our national Health Care System, but it is helping to make people wealthy, while enhancing drug dependence of others.