Yep, I cringe when I hear stories like this. Here in Florida a few years back, a dermatologist was performing waaaay too many skin cancer excisions after determining that the initial biopsy showed cancer cells.Having spent forty years in health care I have enough of these type stories to write a bestseller .
I wonder how many of the patients did any research or reviewed the recommendations with other medical practitioners before agreeing to the stents.The senators solicited 10,000 documents from Abbott and St. Joseph. Their report, provided in advance to The New York Times, concludes that Dr. Midei “may have implanted 585 stents which were medically unnecessary” from 2007 to 2009. Medicare paid $3.8 million of the $6.6 million charged for those procedures.
My emphasis. Article here The Baby May Be Giving You Mommy Thumb - WSJ.comTara Heglar was picking up her son from his crib when the pain started, a searing sharpness on the side of her right hand.
It began when Charlie was about a month old and continued to worsen over the next half year. The snap of pain would return when she used her iPhone, lifted her son or even cradled his head while he nursed. "It felt like I had bruised my bone," says the 38-year-old Ms. Heglar, a business analyst in Concord, N.C.
An orthopedic surgeon diagnosed Ms. Heglar with mommy thumb, formally known as De Quervain's tendinitis, an inflammation of the tendons below the thumb down to the wrist. Although the condition has been around as long as parents have hoisted their children, doctors say a combination of heavier children, older new mothers, cribs that are lower to the floor and frequent scrolling and typing on smartphones has sent the number of cases skyward.
Orthopedic surgeons estimate that between one-quarter and one-half of new mothers experience symptoms of De Quervain's. When common pain relievers don't ease the inflammation, patients are getting steroid injections, splints and even surgery.
I wonder how many of the patients did any research or reviewed the recommendations with other medical practitioners before agreeing to the stents.
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I don't doubt that happened, and I also expect Dr. Midei delivered a finely-honed message that made the stent seem all the more imperative. They were not all emergencies, however, and I suspect there are many Doctors that would have given different advice. I know that is easy for me to write, but any remedy to a problem like this has to include individuals being more involved with their health and their healthcare.You are in the Cardiac cath lab having an angiogram after you have had some symptoms of chest pain the Doctor tells you you have a blockage that might kill you and you need stents. How many people in this position do you think say I'll wait on that I want a second opinion ?
Dr. Midei “may have implanted 585 stents which were medically unnecessary”
... I also expect Dr. Midei delivered a finely-honed message that made the stent seem all the more imperative. They were not all emergencies, however, and I suspect there are many Doctors that would have given different advice. I know that is easy for me to write, but any remedy to a problem like this has to include individuals being more involved with their health and their healthcare.
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Some people said the medicare in the States can be fixed right away. Hmmm I beg to differ ...
They were not all emergencies, however, and I suspect there are many Doctors that would have given different advice. I know that is easy for me to write, but any remedy to a problem like this has to include individuals being more involved with their health and their healthcare.
There are guidelines for many interventions but they are not mandatory, and often are legitimately ignored due to special circumstances which apply to particular patients.Aren't there guidelines that MDs in the States have to follow ? Here in Canada MDs must follow the guidelines and perform procedures only if it is necessary, and submit claims to get paid by the provincial governments eventually..
Edward Chaid, 68, ... decided to get his first physical examination in decades... He was sent to Dr. Midei to get his arteries X-rayed, and he emerged from the procedure with two stents.
There's plenty of blame in this case to go around but the misleading citation isn't one of them: "getting your coronary arteries x-rayed" in this case implies a cardiac cath, which is the same basic procedure that you undergo when having stents implanted. So the stent may or may not have been indicated, but having a cath and awakening with a stent is routine and usually discussed in advance. Otherwise in proper circumstances you'd have to have two caths -- one to find the blockage and another to place the stent. So, it's usually "if we find anything during the cath we will put in a stent, with your advance permission.He was sent to Dr. Midei to get his arteries X-rayed, and he emerged from the procedure with two stents
I am glad you clarified itThat was me and I was kidding.