An excerpt:
Let’s get back to what really matters: the patient. At the moment I heard about not having crucial antibiotics for a sick infant, I snapped. I walked to the nearest phone and dialed the pharmacy, “Dr. Mass here. Why is patient x waiting for meds?”………(party line reply delivered)….”I see. You are going to mix up the antibiotics and get them to the ER in ten minutes. Otherwise, I will call the hospital CEO and tell him that I am going to tell the parents that their child is in danger because of hospital policy. I will not have some (un-publishable word) bureaucrat dictate my patient’s care. What? …Oh, thank you.” Coming clean to let you know how fun and liberating that moment was, as the ER staff stared at me in shock.Read the whole thing. (Via Dr. Megan Edison.)
I don’t wonder why more physicians don’t complain; it takes time. We are knee deep in CME, MOC, state and hospital mandates, insurance company fights, on and on. No wonder patients say we don’t take enough time with them. Furthermore, 80% of physicians are hospital-employed. Buck the system, lose a job. If you aren’t hospital-employed, you are bogged down keeping your indie practice alive for the sake of the patients you love...
