Free Republic

Sick and All AloneIt shouldn’t be needed, but it is. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has introduced a patient protection bill, so that ‘if you’re in a hospital or long-term care facility, you have a right to have your loved ones there present with you.’ Every other state and country will hopefully follow. Some places have even prevented the dying from dying in the company and warmth of loved ones.Reacting to the Governors bill, Brownstone scholar Dr. Jay Bhattacharya tweeted: “Perhaps the cruelest lockdown policy: preventing people from visiting their sick loved ones in hospitals or long-term care facilities”Many people commented...

Since the start of the CCP virus pandemic, around 1 in 20 “do not resuscitate (DNR)” orders in place in England were not agreed to in discussions with the persons concerned, their relative, or carer, risking a breach of their human rights, a new report found. The report, published on Thursday by Independent health regulator Care Quality Commission (CQC), was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) last October due to concerns over inappropriate and blanket DNR decision making during the pandemic as a result of unprecedented pressure on care providers, confusion around guidance, and miscommunication. According...

The world-renown MD Anderson Cancer Center has announced a workforce reduction by 1,000, the CEO of the center said on Thursday. The cancer hospital has had $110 million in operating losses from September through November this year, reported the Houston Chronicle. [Snip] The local publication reported that the financial problems began in the spring when the hospital implemented a new electronic medical-record system. Doctors and staff members at the center spent a great deal of time getting up to speed in using the program and that took time away from their patients.

... But as soon as he pressed play on his way home, he was shocked out of his anesthesia-induced stupor: He found that he had recorded the entire examination, and that the surgical team had mocked and insulted him as soon as he drifted off to sleep. And in addition to their vicious commentary, the doctors discussed avoiding the man after the colonoscopy, instructing an assistant to lie to him, and then placed a false diagnosis on his chart. “After five minutes of talking to you in pre-op,” the anesthesiologist told the sedated patient, “I wanted to punch you in...

A final ruling issued February 3 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will give patients direct access to their laboratory results instead of having to get them through a doctor's office. "The right to access personal health information is a cornerstone of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a press release. "Information like lab results can empower patients to track their health progress, make decisions with their health care professionals, and adhere to important treatment plans." Patients or someone a patient designates can still ask for...

This month’s massacre of disarmed students and faculty at Virginia Tech was preordained and takes me back to my experience with the violent mentally ill. My brother worked in Vermont’s Waterbury Mental Hospital in the 70s and 80s. He worked to keep some sense of order among the wing housing the criminally insane. At 5’ 5” and 145 pounds, he seemed a strange pick to work with violent, 200-pound psychopaths and he had fractures and lacerations too numerous to count. But he was more successful in reaching these deranged inmates than most other staffers so he was kept at...

The following letter/fax [May 22, 2000] indicates how our Florida Governor has been ignoring the true case of Zoe E. Stronstorff, which indicates extreme Elder Abuse. (It appears he sacrificed health safety and government funds to protect his corporate cronies (HCA -IHS) and campaign contributing physicians. Whether patients are abused does not seem to concern him. Whether similar incidents could be avoided in the future also seems not to concern him).

http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&Year=2004&billnum=692 S692     GENERAL BILL by Wise; (CO-SPONSORS) Sebesta Incompetency/Nutrition/Hydration; cites act as "Starvation & Dehydration   of Persons with Disabilities Prevention Act"; declares that incompetent   person is presumed to have directed health care providers to provide necessary nutrition & hydration to sustain life; prohibits court, proxy,   or surrogate from withholding or withdrawing nutrition or hydration   except under specified circumstances, etc. Amends Ch. 765.  EFFECTIVE   DATE: Upon becoming law. 11/21/03 SENATE Prefiled 12/05/03 SENATE Referred to Judiciary; Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care;                   Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services;                   Appropriations; Rules and Calendar  ...

Bush Administration Decides Not to Require Written Patient Consent for Sharing Medical Records By Janelle Carter Associated Press Writer Published: Aug 9, 2002 WASHINGTON (AP) - Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, the Bush administration said Friday in a decision denounced by privacy advocates. Finalizing rules on the handling of medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services set aside a Clinton administration proposal that would have required a patient's written consent before that information could be released. However, doctors and other health care providers...