West Virginia doctor claims patients on VA waiting list committed suicide
From the article:
A West Virginia doctor is coming forward with new allegations against the Department of Veterans Affairs, claiming that she too was told to put patients seeking treatment off for months on end — and that at least two of them committed suicide.
Dr. Margaret Moxness, who says she was employed at the Huntington VA Medical Center in Charleston, W.Va., from 2008 to 2010, told “Fox & Friends” on Monday that she was told to delay treatment even after she told supervisors they needed immediate care. She said at least two patients committed suicide while waiting for treatment between appointments.
Does this sound like a “death panel” ?
I recently blogged about Medicare going to pay pts $75.00 to make a on-line health care directive.. and I quote Dying is expensive, and planning ahead may be one way to cut costs since end of life spending is in the billions of dollars in the United States.
We are now seeing the down playing of PSA tests, Mammograms and questioning the necessity of annual physical exams.
Is it just me.. or is there a trend.. eliminate/down play “screen tests” … so that disease are more advanced once they are discovered.. and then have a health care directive… to cut costs.. when screenings and early detection.. could have eliminated the need for a “death panel” to tell people that their live is not worth the investment of further therapy.
Is our healthcare system heading for a “death spiral”.. and survival of the fittest is going to be the order of the day ?
Filed under: General Problems
While you may believe that Medicare is big into preventive measures.. since I went on Medicare two years ago.. my interaction with my PCP has definitely changed.. time allotted is much more abbreviated..and my PCP is part of a six prescriber practice.. one of the larger ones in the county of 85 – 95 K people .. and this practice stop accepting NEW Medicare pts over 5 years ago. Preventive care is only worthwhile if you can find a physician that will take you on as a patient.. that is.. unless you believe that all physicians are “generic” and one is as good as the next. Like the old joke .. “what do you call the person who graduated last in the medical school class ? … DOCTOR !”
“Is it just me.. or is there a trend.. eliminate/down play “screen tests” … so that disease are more advanced once they are discovered.. and then have a health care directive… to cut costs.. when screenings and early detection.. could have eliminated the need for a “death panel” to tell people that their live is not worth the investment of further therapy.”
Yuck, Medicare is big into preventative measures that work. http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-and-screening-services.html You sound like a dumb Fox news pundit with all your uneducated government attacks.