| Is a doctor under-prescribing narcotics for a terminally ill woman's pain, for fear she will become an addict, negligent? |
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Is a doctor under-prescribing narcotics for a terminally ill woman's pain, for fear she will become an addict, negligent?
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Asked 2 years ago
by Chipmonk  United States |
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About
Kinda squirrely; very opinionated; not always right; not always willing to admit to being not always right. :)
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5 Points
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I intentionally worded the answer responses the way I did to try to get comments that might help me understand the mentality of people who would say that a doctor who under-medicates a terminally ill patient's pain is NOT negligent because not creating an addict is of paramount importance because the dying person may get so out of touch with reality that they denounce God and family and, quite possibly, take their life in their own hands because they can't handle living as they are any longer. I am wondering what mindset of person would condone under-medicating a terminally ill patient's pain? Does logic and intelligence play any part in their decision?
I suspect the doc is protecting his/her own butt in this situation.
I think doctors are worried about litigation.
To be seen as doing the Right thing, they don't have the courage to step outside the square.
What I found got through the protective surface of the doctors was to make a comparison between the care of a person and the care of an animal in this country.
That it is illegal to allow an animal to suffer in this country. A Vet will not allow an animal to thrash around and injure itself or allow it to slowly die for 2 weeks.
So why on earth should a human being be treated that way ?
Well, your first sentence was right. Just because they can, (in the US) many families will sue and win. This is one of the reasons tort reform is so badly needed. Many Doctors in the US practice to avoid getting sued. My OBGYN friend does. She manages to do it and still be a good doctor, but birth costs about double what it otherwise would.
My Mother always said to me
"don't worry, I won't suffer, if the time comes, I have tablets with me that I can take, if ever I need them "
Well while my Mum was in hospital, she had a couple of opportunities when she could have taken the tablets herself, but she didn't.
She suffered, well I think she did.
Was she religious? 'Just curious.. I wonder what makes people think the way they do. Do the people here who answered anything but "Yes. Terminal...," really believe the answers they gave? o.O [puzzled]
Having seen this almost daily at work, I tend to believe that doctors over-prescribe medicine to alleviate all pain at end of life care. I tend to see more patients in hospice that are in twilight stages mentally, rather than suffering.
Is this a new occurrence?
For the public to believe the opposite suggests it wasn't always this way. 'Sounds like a huge improvement. :)
Not really. I can't recall any terminal patient being denied anything to deal with the pain.
Depends on the doctor, and the state. I was able to get pain medication for my chronic condition from my California doctor with no problem. I got bottles of 100 tablets about every 15-18 months, no questions asked, In NY, that doctor argues with me over 15 tablets every six months, so I have started buying black market as well. I realize this is not end-of-life care, but I suspect given what I have experienced in NY. that they would be equally difficult then.
My favorite story about my California doctor? I was having cortisone injections in my feet (this was back when I was still being mistakenly diagnosed for various inflammatory conditions instead of the CMP). A friend went with me as I wasn't sure I would be able to drive afterward--sometimes my reaction to cortisone was that everything around the injection site felt like it turned into a block of wood for a few hours--and she came into the exam room with me to finish a conversation we were having. The docotr smelled that she was a smoker, and commented on it. "Shall I tell him or would you like to?" I aasked
"you go ahead," she said.
"My friend has Hodgkins lymphoma and it has metastasized into her bones" I said.
The doctor's response? "Are they giving you enough pain meds?"
I really liked that man.
Yes. The doctor is negligent. Pain actually hastens death.
That 40% here believe not, are they just morons... or should I have just given them a yes/no option?