• Go To Front Page

American Health Care At Work—
a true story

A woman I know developed ITP: Immune ThrombocytoPenia—a dangerous lack of platelets in the blood.

In the beginning, all the “doctors” wanted to do was give her infusions of platelets. Then they would administer a platelet blood test requiring a needle “stick” and the removal of some blood. Each time they did, her arms would display a huge purple bruise from the stick. 

The infusions did not work because her spleen would go into hyperdrive and immediately kill off all the platelets. Over and over and over and over, in one hospital after another after another the infusions and the failed blood tests were repeated. Because the patient was an “outpatient,” each infusion cost $600!

The results? Her platelet count should have been 100,000 (what the test calls 100). It wasn’t. It was 1.

1, 1, 1, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1

On and on they went.

Wednesday May 18th., 2022

The patient went to the doctor for a platelet test. Her platelet count was so low it could not be measured! 

Her condition had become life threatening. The doctors decided (finally!) that she should undergo a splenectomy (removal of the spleen). 

There was a problem. Most doctors wanted her platelet count to be at least 50 (50,000) during the surgery. 

In two years,
being “treated” by clueless doctors
who managed to rack up a $500,000 bill
her platelet count had never reached 50.
Not once.
After spending the half-million bucks,
the patient’s condition was unchanged.

This is where the horrible “rules” and the secrecy of the absurd US medical system came into play. She had three choices.

• 1. Do nothing and wait for a blood “leak” in her brain or elsewhere to kill her suddenly. Without platelets, she could bleed to death anywhere, any time.
• 2. Go to the emergency room. The doctors there, knowing nothing about her previous “treatment” would, most likely give her an infusion and send her right home. This way, the secret Three Midnight Rule would not come into play. Without staying hospitalized for three midnights, the hospital and doctors would NOT bill her health care system—they’d bill her instead 20% of the costs no matter how big they got—like infusions at $600 each.
  
  Only after a three midnight stay would her status change from “observation” or “outpatient” to “hospitalized” or “inpatient.” As an “inpatient,” her maximum co-pay would be $225 per day no matter WHAT expensive procedures the hospital wanted to perform.
  
  This is the fundamental flaw, built into the current, dreadful US health care system by Nixon, Ehrlichman and Edgar Kaiser.
  
  Their goal? Provide less health care, make the patient pay more and mistreat patients in order to save money for the hospitals.
  
  That’s why the Three Midnight Rule exists. Not to give better healthcare! The rule is there to pay the lawyers (who run our healthcare system) more money by giving shoddy, sub-standard care.
  
  People in other countries are amazed that US citizens will put up with such a horrible health system.
  
  Hospitals are SO ANXIOUS to prevent any patient from staying for three midnights (and have to deal with the health insurance paper jungle) they actually created a job called Hospitalist to eject patients before they are well. Each Hospitalist works night and day to save the hospital money by kicking the patient out on the street before either of these things happen:
• 2.1. The patient’s health insurance funds run out. If this should happen the patient will find themselves literally rolled out onto the sidewalk, bed and all.
• 2.2. The patient approaches the Third Midnight. Before this happens, the hospital will kick the patient out of the hospital, even going to the extreme of having a poor patient taken by taxi to a deserted part of skid row and dropped off on a sidewalk to fend for themselves (as shown on YouTube).
• 3. Have her primary care physician write a letter and call the hospital describing EXACTLY the treatment the patient needs: 
• 3.1. Two or three days of multiple platelet infusions followed by
• 3.2. An immediate spleen removal surgery which includes constant platelet infusions during surgery followed by
• 3.3. One or two days of recovery BEFORE BEING SENT HOME. IN NO CASE was the patient to be removed from hospital care until well after the Three Day Rule had expired.

On Friday May 20th., The “Doctor” Calls

At 3:30 PM the doctor from Hell called the patient and DEMANDED that she admit herself to a particular hospital that was VERY far away from where the patient lived. Then this dreadful “doctor” left her office for the weekend WITHOUT SENDING INSTRUCTIONS TO THE HOSPITAL. 

The patient arrived, but the hospital could not proceed because THE DREADFUL DOCTOR HAD NOT SENT HER INSTRUCTIONS to the hospital!

The mean-spirited doctor from Hell made a medical orphan out of her patient! Because of her lazy doctor, the patient GOT TO SIT IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE CHAIR in the lobby of the hospital for 8 hours. Why? Because of the evil “doctor” who wanted to teach this patient “a lesson.”

Malpractice
Malpractice Malpractice
Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice
Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice
Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice Malpractice 

Ever heard of such dreadful treatment? Perhaps this awful doctor read too many books about prisoner treatment in WWII German concentration camps.

This is medievalism, right?
We’re a third world country, now, right?
What is the right punishment for such a terrible doctor? I think she should lose her medical license for playing such mean and dangerous games with patients. 

The sooner the better.

Saturday May 21st. 12:30 AM

Finally! The patient sat in the uncomfortable reception area chair from from 4:30 PM (on the 20th.) until 12:30 AM (on the 21st.). She was taken to a room and allowed to lie down in a bed and get some sleep!

Still sounds like WWII Germany or Cold War Russia to me.

Saturday May 21st. 7:30 AM

The patient just texted: “Yay! I was just now put into my own room.”

So . .. will the patient be given multiple platelet infusions today and Sunday and have the splenectomy on Monday as hoped? Stay tuned . . .

Saturday May 21st. 11:30: AM

The patient reported a visit by the Hospitalist, undoubtedly to see if the patient would accept being kicked out on the street before the third midnight (Sunday). The patient carefully explained the plan of infusions all day today and Sunday, the surgery on Monday and a day to recover.

Hospitalists are paid to be sly and slippery. We’ll see what happens.

Tuesday May 24th. 

The patient is going crazy lying in bed in a hospital room reading the books she brought cover-to-cover and watching cable TV where even the “premium” channels have long, long, long sets of commercials. She’s waiting for her platelet count to improve. 

Finally . . . at last . . . it did.

Meanwhile she asked me to bring her some items from her medicine chest and three new new (old) books. I went down I-10 to 22nd. Street, east to Wilmot and north to the hospital. I saw her for the first time in what seems like a long time. She looked beautiful. We hugged. We kissed. She had a nurse chaperone who was there to make sure she did NOT step out of the hospital wearing her sensors and transmission equipment. I bowed to the nurse, crossing my fist over my heart (the Galaxy Quest salute).

Today, her platelet count hit 182! That’s plenty to reassure the marvelous lady surgeon who came to visit her. The doctor was imbued with a serene sense of competence, willingness to help and quiet masterfulness that completely won over the patient. The surgeon’s reputation is superb. With a doctor that good, everything will come out fine were the patient’s own words.

It seems like the plan is to take the patient to the operating room (probably) on Thursday. Start her recovery on Friday and maybe come home Monday.

Thursday May 26th.

The patient was placed into an operation preparation ward. The operation before hers ended way late. The patient’s operation finally started at 3:30 PM. The splenectomy operation took longer than expected and lasted until 6:30. At 8 PM the surgeon took pity on me and called me to let me know that the patient was out of surgery and doing well. Another sign of a great and noble doctor. 

Then, the surgeon went home for a long weekend.

Friday May 27th.
The Post Op Care Dilemma

The patient was supposed to have a bowel movement to prove that her intestines were not “frozen” by the ill effects of the surgery. In order to get the patient’s elimination working the hospital gave the patient a diet consisting of:

• • Prednisone (a very constipating drug) 
• • steroids (also very constipating)
• • super salty soup (which raised her blood pressure) 
• • tea
• • Jello

After feeding her drugs and “food” causing her to become constipated, the hospital began watching for the patient to lose her constipation. Huh?

The hospital said they should start the patient on high blood pressure medications. “Absolutely not!” was the patient’s response. YOU are giving me high blood pressure with a diet of super salty soup! Give me some decent food and my blood pressure will return to normal.

The patient needed a shower. She stood next to the shower stall and waited for hot water. She waited and waited. No hot water! How does the staff wash their hands? With more chemicals. A hospital that does not have hot and cold running water? Absurd! Outrageous!

Monday May 30th.
Poor Diet Distress

The patient called me in distress because her abdomen was distended and because she could not have a bowel movement. Although she had asked and asked for a suppository laxative, none had been given to her!

I recommended the patient demand food with some bulk like whey shakes and chicken salads. She should inform the staff that, 

“Super salty soup, jello, tea and constipating medicines is NOT my proper diet. I need to eat FOOD to get my intestines working properly. Either feed me some real food or I’ll have to leave the hospital.”

Chances are that instead of speaking out, she will follow the hospital’s advice about her diet even though it is BAD advice. Almost without exception American patients cower and turn into lemmings in the presence of the eminence front that doctors put on.

Tuesday May 31st.

The surgeon returned from her long weekend and directed that the IntraVenous therapy (IV) tubes be removed. To the patient’s wise decision to make photographic proof of her success at the toilet, the surgeon switched the patient to full meals. When a real food lunch arrived, the patient was joyful and speechless.

The surgeon said that the patient would have her incision drain tube removed and “be released” on Wednesday to return home. This made the patient VERY happy. The day of her release was untrue, but it made the patient happy anyway.

Thursday June 2nd.

THREE TIMES the patient told the nurse the pharmacy she wanted was at Fry’s Market at Ina & Thornydale. Instead, the nurse phoned into the pharmacy “she always used” instead. 

The patient was released. 

Not having been informed the hospital had phoned the WRONG pharmacy, the patient went to HER pharmacy but the prescription was not ready yet. That’s because the prescription was waiting for her at the WRONG pharmacy. 

Friday June 3rd.

Today she went to her pharmacy again only to be told they still did not have her prescription. The patient asked if the prescription could have been sent to another Fry’s. Sure enough, the Fry’s at Tangerine & Thornydale had the prescription ready to be picked up (since June 2nd.). 

Summary

Our health “care” system is dreadful. Everybody knows it. Doctors were well paid before Nixon, Erlichman and Edgar Kaiser introduced the horrible HMO “cheat the patient and pocket the money” system we now have. As a result, doctors are now desperate to regain the good income they expected when they did all the work to became doctors in the first place. Their good income is gone. Truth is gone. Doctors are regularly perverted into becoming drug pushers for high-priced drugs that pay Big Pharma well. The eminence front doctors put on is ruined because many people now see them for the financially-desperate people they are.

Healthcare in the US is now:

• • too expensive
• • too slow
• • too wasteful
• • features way too many expensive lifetime drugs from Big Pharma.

The citizens of almost every other country know this. The only people who do not know this are the dumbed-down Americans. Back when Richard Nixon, John Ehrlichman and Edgar Kaiser concocted the dreadful HMO concept and put it into play, doctors enjoyed more freedom and higher pay. 

Doctors who are “practicing” medicine today were just going through school while they watched health care in the US fall to pieces as greed, corruption and cheating took over and destroyed the career they had been studying for and planning on. Doctors have moved on to other work rather than be forced to take the Covid vaccine shots they knew were dangerous, harmful and ineffective. 

The 911 lung-damaged firemen that Michael Moore took to Cuba were astounded by their health care system. When the firemen said, “I don’t have health insurance,” the hospital said, “That’s OK; we don’t need that.” When the firemen said, how long will I be under the care of a doctor?” the hospital said, “Until you are completely well again.” One of the Michael Moore party spotted her asthma inhaler product at a Cuban pharmacy. “How much is this?” “Six dollars.” She broke down in tears to find out how much Big Pharma (back home in the US) was cheating Americans with artificially high prices. 

With rare exceptions, medicine in the US has turned into a criminal enterprise. The guilty need to be charged, tried and sent to jail for their crimes!

Always remember:
700,000 US doctors
kill 780,000 patients
every year.

We need doctor control
much more
than gun control.

Congress members don’t have to suffer with Medicare! 

• • They voted themselves a cushy private system of health care. 
• • They make voting decisions based on what benefits THEM, not Americans.
• • They are privy to insider trading secrets that allow them to invest to take full advantage of their knowledge.
• • The only way to fix our health care system is to banish the plush system congress voted for themselves and MAKE THEM USE MEDICARE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Only when this happens will medical “care” improve in the US.

###