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Maybe we should call NYU and tell them they are teaching their residents wrong...
Um, I'm not arguing medicine with an accountant who is probably taking information his wife gave him completely out of context.
Let's just leave it at the fact that there is no evidence (nor is it standard of care) to do routine cbcs on every kid with a fever.
Blanket shotgun testing (especially on children) is unheard of and it's not good medicine.
Btw, in a weird twist of irony, my wife is in finance, too...but I don't pretend to be an accounting expert just because my wife has an MBA.
Um, I'm not arguing medicine with an accountant who is probably taking information his wife gave him completely out of context.
Let's just leave it at the fact that there is no evidence (nor is it standard of care) to do routine cbcs on every kid with a fever.
Blanket shotgun testing (especially on children) is unheard of and it's not good medicine.
Don't play the NYU card, either...the med school I went to was rated higher (as was the children's hospital it was associated with).
I disagree, a CBC can tell you if the infection is a bacteria or a virus....
That's exactly why at our last urgent care visit; my son had a rapidly escalating high temperature and a sore throat, the rapid strep test was negative, so they did the CBC to see if it was bacterial or viral. They did the strep test first, as they hoped they could avoid having to draw blood.
And to the OP: that was it. It didn't escalate from there, so no need to jump from thinking "blood test" to "horrible disease" or "now they're doing a spinal tap." It's a very routine test, and nothing to be worried about. Not that I LIKE seeing my son poked and blood withdrawn (and I hate it for myself, too), but not worth postponing a visit to the doctor, either.
I disagree, a CBC can tell you if the infection is a bacteria or a virus....
*sigh* More disinformation. The complete blood count alone does not have adequate sensitivity or specificity to tell bacterial from viral infections.
I'm outtie...this thread is going to make my head explode.
Um, I'm not arguing medicine with an accountant who is probably taking information his wife gave him completely out of context.
Let's just leave it at the fact that there is no evidence (nor is it standard of care) to do routine cbcs on every kid with a fever.
Blanket shotgun testing (especially on children) is unheard of and it's not good medicine.
Btw, in a weird twist of irony, my wife is in finance, too...but I don't pretend to be an accounting expert just because my wife has an MBA.
I never said that I was an expert, but, there are hospital that do have this policy, and you can take that to the bank...
That's exactly why at our last urgent care visit; my son had a rapidly escalating high temperature and a sore throat, the rapid strep test was negative, so they did the CBC to see if it was bacterial or viral. They did the strep test first, as they hoped they could avoid having to draw blood.
And to the OP: that was it. It didn't escalate from there, so no need to jump from thinking "blood test" to "horrible disease" or "now they're doing a spinal tap." It's a very routine test, and nothing to be worried about. Not that I LIKE seeing my son poked and blood withdrawn (and I hate it for myself, too), but not worth postponing a visit to the doctor, either.
Oh, look at that,, but wait, a doctor was just here on the forum saying that didnt make sense.. Well go figure...
Really, blood test are now routine test???
But a ER doctor said it was not?? HMMM maybe your doctor knows something that this one doesnt.. Or maybe my wife knows the same thing. Or that hospitals with that policy do it for a reason, but what do I know...
NK, when I've had to take my kids into the doctor for shots, blood draws, procedures, etc. I've always kept ONE thing in mind...if I do NOT calm this kid down and they jerk, panic, freak out and move or can't have the procedure done, it could have DIRE consequences.
I always educated my children to everything that was going to happen to them BEFORE they got to the doctor's office or hospital. I might even get tough and gruff, warning them of the dangers of jumping around or jerking while getting a shot....having them practice (if they're old enough), finding something else to think about while blocking out everything going on in the immediate vicinity.
When I had to take my son in to have his dislocated finger put back in, I gave him pain medication BEFORE we went to the emergency room, knowing that he was currently in pain, but the stress of being in the ER would make things worse. NSAID in, procedure discussed, humor as often as possible, and no problem. My kids responded to humor best of all. Telling them the needle was going to be HUGE....and they shoot about a CUP of stuff into your arm....then saying, "Oh I am SO lying!! Holy crap, the needle is like so TINY and they barely have anything in it!! Just practice making yourself go limp....like a noodle!
Going limp and relaxing is the best thing you can teach your kids if they're going to have blood drawn...to not think about that arm, but to simple practice going completely limp and then thinking about their OTHER arm...pretending that they're going to poke THAT one! My daughter has always been terrified of needles and had a repeated unsuccessful draw when she was a teen. Her father had taken her in....and it was an utter failure.
When she got pregnant, I coached her like crazy, explained to her that if she only wanted to be poked ONE time, that SHE was the one who was going to be able to make that happen. If you're stressed or tense, veins collapse, vein walls tense up and roll away from the needle, etc. Complete relaxation and self-hypnosis, forcing those veins to relax, is KEY to a successful first blood draw. Being a cooked piece of spaghetti, rather than a raw one, is vital. While you're teaching her these tricks....use them yourself. If you're nervous...your child will be nervous. If you're like, "Oh Pshaw..piece a cake, they do this hundreds of times a week...it's NOTHING...and THEN we'll go get an ice cream/milkshake afterwards, 'kay?"..your child will be just fine....and so will you!
I disagree, a CBC can tell you if the infection is a bacteria or a virus....
*sigh* More disinformation. The complete blood count alone does not have adequate sensitivity or specificity to tell bacterial from viral infections.
I'm outtie...this thread is going to make my head explode.
Boy, now I really believe you are a doctor.
I may not be a doctor, but at least i know what is a shift to the left and s shift to the right on a CBC...
Do you??
How did you go from an accountant to a CFO? What in the heck is an accountacy firm for hospitals? You don't do their contracting?
I worked in hospital contracting for a zillion years. To say that every case was a per diem case rate is laughable. Hospitals bill for every last damn thing they possibly can. And if your Hospitalists are getting paid under a case rate and all your contracts were per diems? I imagine your hospital is/was living in a fiscal nightmare.
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