Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
when my husband was hospitalized with hallucinations they did not give him his Parkingson's medicines at all in spite of being told he had to have them on time every time which was every four hours. He developed extreme dyskenisia. Also he is diabetic and they paid almost no attention to that either. Now my husband refuses to go to hospital at all for anything.
The hospital personnel really doesn't pay any attention to the patients state prior to coming in or anything wrong with them that is not the immediate reason they came in.
I admit that my question is not well worded. The patient was not me. It was a relative.
The nurse said that the 3 meds on the discharge form were the 3 that were administered during the 3-day stay.
The paramedics, ER staff, and attending nurse were all given the list of 6 meds the patient was taking before the fall that caused the hospitalization and the hospital staff asked for the name of the patient's doctor. The attending doctor personally explained the discharge plan (in my presence) and the patient is home recovering nicely. There was no mention of any changes to her medications. I guess my question is: can a discharge form simply have an error on it and thus I am worrying "after the fact"?
Pick up the phone and have the patient or yourself call the PCP. Direct questions to the source of who prescribes for the individual. Preface the conversation with we are confused, what is the current regimen and why.
The patient usually is advised to see the PCP within days of the hospitalization, also, so that follow up could confirm the information you obtain when you call the PCP.
I spent some time in hospital/rehabs a year or so ago. I did NOT take my own meds to these places, but when I told them what I'm on, they made sure I got my meds which were blood pressure and a thyroid med. When I was discharged, I took home meds that were mine and billed for on insurance and that was it. I'm not sure what you are asking.
The problem with taking hospital-provided medications, is that all generic or branded drugs are not the same, despite the myth that they are. Some brands will not work as well as others for some people or in some cases, will hardly work at all. If they gave you a brand that did not work, you'd be in a bad situation. You would not likely get any sympathy from the hospital staff, who would usually insist that every brand of a medication was an interchangeable substitute for every other one.
One time my mother spent a week in a hospital, for injuries suffered in an accident. They didn't give her any of her several medications, for blood-pressure and sleep problems. They said that the attending doctor decided she didn't need them. I don't know what her regular doctor, who'd prescribed them, had to say about that, but apparently he was overridden by the resident doctor. She then spent 4 months in longer-term recovery care and didn't get any medications there, either. So maybe, she didn't really need them, in the first place?
Thank you everyone for the information! My Mom was in the hospital and I discovered that we couldn't give her her usual pills from home and the nurse had to administer them out of their own medicine supplies.
Pick up the phone and have the patient or yourself call the PCP. Direct questions to the source of who prescribes for the individual. Preface the conversation with we are confused, what is the current regimen and why.
I did. The doctor wants the patient to resume the 6 medications the patient was taking prior to the hospitalization.
An attending cannot override a patient's doctor. If that happens you go directly to the hospital board or put them in another hospital. The person also should have meds at home which some places will allow until they get in the meds that are needed. I've seen all kinds of situations and the bottom line is they work for you and they do what is best for you and suddenly stopping meds that you are taking is dangerous. Don't let some overzealous doc bully you. It's the nurses who do that anyway. Your doctor should be made aware you are in the hospital to be available for any concerns or orders if your doc did not make the orders for you to go into the hospital. Make sure you go to a place where your doc has privileges.
An attending cannot override a patient's doctor. If that happens you go directly to the hospital board or put them in another hospital. The person also should have meds at home which some places will allow until they get in the meds that are needed. I've seen all kinds of situations and the bottom line is they work for you and they do what is best for you and suddenly stopping meds that you are taking is dangerous. Don't let some overzealous doc bully you. It's the nurses who do that anyway. Your doctor should be made aware you are in the hospital to be available for any concerns or orders if your doc did not make the orders for you to go into the hospital. Make sure you go to a place where your doc has privileges.
The "attending" can certainly change a patient's current medications. For example, if a patient was on a blood thinner and there was concern about bleeding the blood thinner would be stopped. If a patient needs surgery some medications will be placed on hold until after the surgery. If a patient is being treated for high blood pressure and comes in because he passed out when he stood up the antihypertensive med might need a dose adjustment or to be changed. A diabetic might need a med change or dose adjustment if what he was taking caused poor control of her disease. There are thousands of reasons a hospitalization might result in medication changes.
The "attending" should definitely be made aware of who your primary care doctor is. These days many PCPs do not have hospital privileges at all. Their patients are taken care of by hospitalists, who specialize in inpatient care. At the time of discharge the hospitalist should send a copy of the discharge note to the PCP or possibly contact the PCP directly. Usually a followup appointment with the PCP is scheduled at the time of discharge or the patient is advised to call for one.
People can't bring their meds from home when they go to the hospital. I couldn't understand why though, but you can't. The nurses dole out the meds as prescribed by the doctors. The nurses get orders to administer, but you could always ask questions, then they will call the doctor with your concerns and get back to you.
Sure you can. Hospitals don't like it, but they can't prohibit you from doing so. I always take my medications with me to the hospital (and last year that was 8 times). I provide a list of my medications during the admitting process and will usually have a nurse dispense the correct meds from their pharmacy, but if there's an issue with me getting a dose at the correct time, then I just take my own and tell my nurse. Sometimes just my threat to take my own meds is enough for me to get what I should be getting from their pharmacy at the proper time.
Sure you can. Hospitals don't like it, but they can't prohibit you from doing so. I always take my medications with me to the hospital (and last year that was 8 times). I provide a list of my medications during the admitting process and will usually have a nurse dispense the correct meds from their pharmacy, but if there's an issue with me getting a dose at the correct time, then I just take my own and tell my nurse. Sometimes just my threat to take my own meds is enough for me to get what I should be getting from their pharmacy at the proper time.
Threatening the nurses! What a great way to have a satisfactory hospital stay, not!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
