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I am interested in any feedback anyone may have about this hospital. I am very worried about a family member beginning treatment there and whether or not this is the best place for treatment. I have visited their website but would like to hear from others.
Also, if someone is coming from out of state to visit do you have any suggestions of a really nice place to stay which would be close to the hospital.
JGBCC is a fine institution with some of the best oncology physicians in the area. There are a few concerns that people can sometimes have with it 1) location: being right next to University Hospital means that you sometimes have to deal with their patient population which isn't necessarily the best. 2) some quality scores are lower, this is primarily due to the acuity and complexity of the patients that they see. If you treat sicker patients then you will have lower scores. That is just the way it is. 3) Residents. Well it is attached to a teaching hospital so this is pretty much unavoidable. But because of the AMC affiliation, JGBCC is often at the forefront of research and technology. Along with specialized care that goes along with it.
Honestly, if they can't take care of you, then nobody can.
agreed. jgbcc is one of the top rated cancer centers in the country and we are very lucky to have them here. I have worked with them and their patients for years and have heard nothing but a majority of overwhelmingly positive feedback from the brown. It's also true that they have some of the best oncologists in the country. besides going to Houston, really can't think of a better place, and Houston might not even be better. as far as places to stay, the brown has people to assist with that, just call in advance. I would say any of the downtown hotels would be close and nice. I believe there is a doubletree on brook and Jefferson that is fairly new and would put you about four blocks from the brown.
best of luck to you and your family member. stay positive and you can beat this! I see it happen every day.
I am interested in any feedback anyone may have about this hospital. I am very worried about a family member beginning treatment there and whether or not this is the best place for treatment. I have visited their website but would like to hear from others.
Also, if someone is coming from out of state to visit do you have any suggestions of a really nice place to stay which would be close to the hospital.
It is a great center.
Any downtown hotel would be close and a great choice.
Also, consider airbnb. If you come from a rural area, this may seem a weird concept, but I have used the website in at least a dozen different cities and it is legit.
Is a great listing, only 3 blocks from the Brown Cancer Center. It is also walkable to an emerging area of east downtown with great restaurants and a few interesting art, antique, and shopping spots.
Just because someone "likes" the Center is no reason to endorse it. It's not whether their doctors have a great bedside manner, it's what kind of results occur. And this is a huge failing in our health system. Many of the hospitals keep a "results" tabulation, but are not required by law to release that information. You need to ask to see the quality control officer and request information on the outcomes for all patients with the type of cancer that your family member/friend has who have entered that Center in the past year or two. Ask about their hospital infection rates (those they absolutely are required to maintain).
Also ask whatever doctors will be treating your family member what their outcomes for those same types of cancers has been.
In New York some years ago a physician took a prominent political position and managed to finagle to have what is euphemistically known as "cabbage" heart proecedure (coronary artery bypass) results published by all hospitals. The outcomes showed negative results in some hospitals as low as 1% and in others as high as 18%. Would you go to a hospital or be treated by a doctor where your chances of a negative outcome was one in six? Two years later the overall improvement in cabbage procedures was 83% better.
If no one can or will give you outcomes, you have reason to worry. If they tell you they don't maintain such records, ask if they will put that in writing over an administrator's signature. They won't, and there is certainly a nefarious reason for that--because they do have such information. If we had more requirements throughout the nation for results to be published, health care wouldn't be killing so many people---and I mean that literally.
My wife has served over 20 years as a medical staff director--the person who makes sure physicians are credentialed, have insurance, have successfully overcome any negative feedbacks concerning their practice, etc. On occasion she has found it necessary to put forth the effort to have a physician removed from the hosptial staff. It takes MONTHS to accomplish. In the meantime the physician continues to practice medicine, usually poorly, and as long as they smile a lot and are kind toward their patients, many people, some who were even harmed by the physician, think they are wonderful.
In the meantime all of us are faced with what we have, and until the public wakes up and demands some accountability for health care results, what we pay for may be killing us. But a plus for you is that this is apparently a Center that focuses on a single disease. Specialty hospitals, whether cancer, thoracic or spinal, are usually more efficient in dealing with those diseases/injuries that they specialize in than would be the XXXXX General Hospital, for instance.
Quote:
When there is a plane crash in the U.S., even a minor one, it makes headlines. There is a thorough federal investigation, and the tragedy often yields important lessons for the aviation industry. Pilots and airlines thus learn how to do their jobs more safely.
The world of American medicine is far deadlier: Medical mistakes kill enough people each week to fill four jumbo jets. But these mistakes go largely unnoticed by the world at large, and the medical community rarely learns from them. The same preventable mistakes are made over and over again, and patients are left in the dark about which hospitals have significantly better (or worse) safety records than their peers.
Dr. Marty Makary How to Stop Hospitals from Killing Us - WSJ.com
P.S.
Dr. Makary specializes in advanced laparoscopy, pancreas surgery, gastro-intestinal tumors, and special issues of elderly patients. Makary is an active surgeon and researcher, serving jointly on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health.
Last edited by Wardendresden; 06-29-2013 at 02:01 AM..
Reason: added P.S.
I appreciate the replies I received. I was feeling hopeful about the facility.
He had his first appointment there yesterday and they claim his cancer is too advanced to do anything. They just sent him home and told him to get hospice. I am in shock and heartbroken.
While JGBCC is an excellent facility getting that diagnosis from them shouldn't be the end of trying. We found that when one door shuts just knock on to more! There are many other respected cancer treatment facilities in the area and nationally. One of them may be testing something that could be beneficial.
Just because someone "likes" the Center is no reason to endorse it. It's not whether their doctors have a great bedside manner, it's what kind of results occur. And this is a huge failing in our health system. Many of the hospitals keep a "results" tabulation, but are not required by law to release that information. You need to ask to see the quality control officer and request information on the outcomes for all patients with the type of cancer that your family member/friend has who have entered that Center in the past year or two. Ask about their hospital infection rates (those they absolutely are required to maintain).
Also ask whatever doctors will be treating your family member what their outcomes for those same types of cancers has been.
In New York some years ago a physician took a prominent political position and managed to finagle to have what is euphemistically known as "cabbage" heart proecedure (coronary artery bypass) results published by all hospitals. The outcomes showed negative results in some hospitals as low as 1% and in others as high as 18%. Would you go to a hospital or be treated by a doctor where your chances of a negative outcome was one in six? Two years later the overall improvement in cabbage procedures was 83% better.
If no one can or will give you outcomes, you have reason to worry. If they tell you they don't maintain such records, ask if they will put that in writing over an administrator's signature. They won't, and there is certainly a nefarious reason for that--because they do have such information. If we had more requirements throughout the nation for results to be published, health care wouldn't be killing so many people---and I mean that literally.
My wife has served over 20 years as a medical staff director--the person who makes sure physicians are credentialed, have insurance, have successfully overcome any negative feedbacks concerning their practice, etc. On occasion she has found it necessary to put forth the effort to have a physician removed from the hosptial staff. It takes MONTHS to accomplish. In the meantime the physician continues to practice medicine, usually poorly, and as long as they smile a lot and are kind toward their patients, many people, some who were even harmed by the physician, think they are wonderful.
In the meantime all of us are faced with what we have, and until the public wakes up and demands some accountability for health care results, what we pay for may be killing us. But a plus for you is that this is apparently a Center that focuses on a single disease. Specialty hospitals, whether cancer, thoracic or spinal, are usually more efficient in dealing with those diseases/injuries that they specialize in than would be the XXXXX General Hospital, for instance.
Dr. Marty Makary How to Stop Hospitals from Killing Us - WSJ.com
P.S.
Dr. Makary specializes in advanced laparoscopy, pancreas surgery, gastro-intestinal tumors, and special issues of elderly patients. Makary is an active surgeon and researcher, serving jointly on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health.
This post is a travesty and very condescending to medical professionals. Are you a doctor? Do you have any idea what kind of rigorous training it takes? The problem with medicine in general is insurance companies dictating care, attorneys suing for ridiculous accusations, and also strict regulations on physicians from hospitals and national "practice management guidelines" intended to tell someone with years of training and experience how to treat patients.
Are there bad doctors? Sure. Just like there are bad teachers or policeman. But that is an exception to the rule. Any hospital administrator who thinks they know otherwise, thinks way too highly of themselves. I hear you on publishing outcome data and evidence based medicine. But to say someone is a bad doctor because of that is a gross generalization. I work with many doctors in business practice so I know.
I appreciate the replies I received. I was feeling hopeful about the facility.
He had his first appointment there yesterday and they claim his cancer is too advanced to do anything. They just sent him home and told him to get hospice. I am in shock and heartbroken.
I'm so sorry to hear about this~! I can tell you that I had a family member who went here and received excellent care many, many years ago. I don't know about it now. She also had to see other care which was Hospice once there was nothing else for them to do. It was difficult but the best decision they made. Good Luck and hang in there. Hospice has group counseling to help the family members there. Check it out.
It's not just bad physicians, it's bad health practices
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter1948
This post is a travesty and very condescending to medical professionals. Are you a doctor? Do you have any idea what kind of rigorous training it takes? The problem with medicine in general is insurance companies dictating care, attorneys suing for ridiculous accusations, and also strict regulations on physicians from hospitals and national "practice management guidelines" intended to tell someone with years of training and experience how to treat patients.
Are there bad doctors? Sure. Just like there are bad teachers or policeman. But that is an exception to the rule. Any hospital administrator who thinks they know otherwise, thinks way too highly of themselves. I hear you on publishing outcome data and evidence based medicine. But to say someone is a bad doctor because of that is a gross generalization. I work with many doctors in business practice so I know.
I'm not a physician, but I'm also not stupid. Please note the information that you dismiss in my previous post came from a practicing physician. So here is what ANOTHER practicing physician says:
Quote:
According to a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 Americans were dying every year because of medical mistakes. Today, exact figures are hard to come by because states don’t abide by the same reporting guidelines, and few cases gain as much attention as that of Rory Staunton, the 12-year-old boy who died of septic shock this spring after being sent home from a New York hospital. But a reasonable estimate is that medical mistakes now kill around 200,000 Americans every year. That would make them one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
I'm also not a pilot, but if I read about 200,000 people a year dying in airplane crashes, wouldn't I have reason to ask questions?
Or listen to the trailer of the book by Dr. Makary. It has a lot of health professionals talking about a broken system--a system that protects physicians AND hospitals from being accountable. I strongly recommend the book.
But I was simply trying to make people aware that they need to participate in their own health care, because health care is the biggest industry in the United States. One in six of our dollars go through the health care system and it is chock full of those who protect it, who profit from it and who promote it as it exists today. That's a sure way to be led down the primrose path.
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