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My husband has a VERY long medical history including COPD and MS. He's had a harder than usual time breathing lately and last night was admitted to the hospital in respiratory distress. He called this morning and said new hospital policy is there is only ONE doctor on the planet that can allow patients to have their doctor prescribed medications and he only works ONE morning a week!!! They'd caused him to miss two doses of his medication, including pain meds and pulmonary meds. He woke up in more respiratory distress because he didn't get his doses of pulmonary meds. Instead the hospital was giving him breathing treatments every four hours, which is just pumping his body full of steroids and he doesn't tolerate steroids well, which he told them. They said the new policy is to save the hospital money and there's nothing he could do. Not allowed to have meds from home brought in for him. How can a doctor who speaks to you for 90 seconds decide that the meds your doctor who has known you for years and has done extensive testing and altering of medications to get the right levels for you withhold or refuse meds? Thankfully the doctor did say he could have his meds (oh, thank you great one) but he'd missed two doses, was in worse shape and it was a long time before the nurse even got around to bringing them to him! Is that even legal?!
I can't speak for that particular hospital's one Dr. policy, but I do know that hospitals usually do not allow any meds to be taken that have not been provided to the patient by the nursing staff.
That includes OTCs and even things like Ben Gay, because the hospital needs to know exactly what is being taken and when it is taken.
You may wish to speak with the hospital's patient advocate or social worker. I hope that your DH is doing better.
I can't speak for that particular hospital's one Dr. policy, but I do know that hospitals usually do not allow any meds to be taken that have not been provided to the patient by the nursing staff.
That includes OTCs and even things like Ben Gay, because the hospital needs to know exactly what is being taken and when it is taken.
You may wish to speak with the hospital's patient advocate or social worker. I hope that your DH is doing better.
I knew he couldn't bring his meds with him. But usually when he checks in they get his list of meds - we have it printed in his wallet with the name and phone of each Dr that has prescribed each med - and then they give it to him when it's due from their stock. I'm sure it costs the insurance company ten times more per pill that way, but it's how they've always worked. But now this new policy means if the Dr comes in on a Weds and you are admitted on a Thursday you don't get ANY of your medications for a week! For someone with a serious illness, or in his case a terminal illness, missing one dose is a big deal. Missing a week?!
I'm still livid. Definitely stopping in the admin office. If he's released we'll deal with it then. If they don't think he's stable enough to be released, and I"m guessing they don't because he said he was feeling much worse today, then I'm having him transferred to another hospital.
In my hospital experiences, they ask that you bring whatever meds you currently take along with you, and give to the nurses. I've even had them recommend I continue to take my own supply until their orders get processed. I don't know how it all works with those "hospitalist" doctors now, though.
It's completely legal for the attending physician to prescribe whatever he or she feels is appropriate, regardless of what medication the person normally takes at home. It does not make sense that they only have a doctor available once a week - a hospital should have a doctor on-site 24/7 plus other physicians on-call, at minimum. I'd be furious that they disregarded what normally works for him and caused him to become ill. I would seriously consider transferring to another hospital.
I knew he couldn't bring his meds with him. But usually when he checks in they get his list of meds - we have it printed in his wallet with the name and phone of each Dr that has prescribed each med - and then they give it to him when it's due from their stock. I'm sure it costs the insurance company ten times more per pill that way, but it's how they've always worked. But now this new policy means if the Dr comes in on a Weds and you are admitted on a Thursday you don't get ANY of your medications for a week! For someone with a serious illness, or in his case a terminal illness, missing one dose is a big deal. Missing a week?!
I'm still livid. Definitely stopping in the admin office. If he's released we'll deal with it then. If they don't think he's stable enough to be released, and I"m guessing they don't because he said he was feeling much worse today, then I'm having him transferred to another hospital.
Do you have an insurance case worker/advocate? If not, call the insurance and GET one! If he's on Medicare, well, call Medicare. Be wary of leaving against medical advice. If not properly discharged, many insurance companies will not cover any of the bill.
Look, ummmm.......just sneak some in. Its better than him suffering! Conceal them in a candy box, or something.
I had a similar situation years ago. I was on prednisone, long-term. Anyone that knows anything knows you don't abruptly stop prednisone, you taper off or the patient can end up in shock. The admitting doctor was a complete jerk, and insisted prednsione was NOT indicated for my admitting DX = flu. Yes, but it was a maintenance drug I was on, and couldn't be expected to just stop it. Dr Jerk said well, have my PCP re-start it when I was discharged, he wasn't treating rheumatoid, he was treating flu. Meanwhile, my RA was flaring up big time. Rather than argue pointlessly with Dr Jerk I just had DH smuggle me some in. Fortunately, they're small pills, he brought them in a tic tac box. You do what you have to do....
When I was last in the hospital they said it would actually be cheaper for me to just give them my medications, and the nurses would dispense them instead of getting the pills through their pharmacy. This policy makes no sense to me. What if your husband ended up being in a life threatening situation because they withheld needed meds? Is there another hospital nearby that he could transfer to?
This case sounds like an attorney's dream. I'm under the impression that hospitals must have at least 1 doctor on duty 24/7. There's always a doctor in the ER. All the hospitals I've been in asked for the list of meds I or my wife were taking and they made sure that we took them at the prescribed time. I always hated being awakened up in the middle of the night to take a pill, but that's what the doctor ordered and that's what the nurse did.
This case sounds like an attorney's dream. I'm under the impression that hospitals must have at least 1 doctor on duty 24/7. There's always a doctor in the ER. All the hospitals I've been in asked for the list of meds I or my wife were taking and they made sure that we took them at the prescribed time. I always hated being awakened up in the middle of the night to take a pill, but that's what the doctor ordered and that's what the nurse did.
I'm with you. Plus where I go- my pills go. I'll take them on my own, thank you very much and if the hospital staff doesn't like it--let them try wrestling them from me.
I'm with you. Plus where I go- my pills go. I'll take them on my own, thank you very much and if the hospital staff doesn't like it--let them try wrestling them from me.
LOL, hey nurse, just try to take those pills from my cold stiff hands...
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