https://www.fox.com/the-resident/
The show tonight (03/08/2022) Season 5 Episode 15 “in for a penny”
Parts of this show is very interesting… there is a couple of small parts about the actions/functions of the State Medical Licensing board in dealing with a complaint on a surgeon and a pt complaint about failed back surgery.
Having been a licensed Pharmacist for 51 yrs, I am fairly familiar with how state healthcare licensing board function and I was sitting at my desk and I have a 43″ LCD TV in front of me on my desk with this show on.. working on another new post for the blog … and luckily I have a TIVO system – which I often have to go to a hit “replay the last 15 second”… because I will hear something and while the TV audio is playing in the background in my head and my brain – “kicks me” .. with WHAT THE HELL DID THEY SAY ?
Upon replaying the segment of the show about a BIG BOARD ROOM TABLE with a dozen or so Medical Licensing Board members sitting around and they are in the process of ending their meeting and the “new member” of the board… tried to call the board’s attention to a pt’s complaint of a failed back surgery – what was described as a medical mistake that the collective board apparently decided to take no actions on the pt’s complaints… justifying that no surgery is perfect, etc…etc…etc… and willing to totally dismiss the complaint. Even though this particular surgeon had several pt complaints against this surgeon with the Medical Licensing Board and apparently all had been individually dismissed without action and the board did not look back at the pt complaint history against this surgeon with the board.
I suspect tomorrow that a lot of board members of a large number of state Medical Licensing Board Members will be on the phone with each other, exchanging emails, having a “zoom meeting” discussing – WTH – this was put on PRIME TIME TV ?
There is two different segments in the program – first one is in the first half of the show and the second in the last half of the show, both are important to watch to get the idea of the full concept.
There was also a sub-plot in the show about hospital systems that were preforming unnecessary procedures on Medicare/Medicaid pts solely to generate more revenue for the hospital system, I am sure that similar cases can be made against chain pharmacies – think “twisting arms” of chronic pain pts to purchase Narcan when they get their opiate Rxs filled. Especially those pts who have been on opiates for years – never a OD issue – and lives alone and from a practical standpoint, who is going to administer the Narcan in the rare incident that the pt would accidentally OD ?
This show should be taken to heart by pts to understand that our healthcare system and the healthcare licensing boards are not friends of pts, nor really not advocates for pts.
Filed under: General Problems
I watched that as well and was seething as a woman said she knew the surgeon and he was competent, blah blah blah. They love to cover for each other so the favor will be returned some day!
The problem with addressing or semi-addressing the problems that medical care providers are facing when they prescribe narcotic or synthetic opiate drugs on television is that they either reinforce the anti-opiate stance now being pushed by the government, or they provide partial information but not enough information to make an educated opinion or have an educated discussion about the problem. This leaves the public with a skewed but more uninformed view of the current drug problem, a bias against the use of all scheduled drugs, or worse the wrong view that is not based on scientific facts and evidence. What remains is an uninformed very frightened public view that tells us that all drugs are to be avoided because they are dangerous and have no valid medical use. This is not only frightening for people but very dangerous. The majority of the population, otherwise known as the public, is unaware of the fact that the drugs that causing the deaths and the problems we are now facing are a result of cartel produced, cartel distributed, and cartel mixtures that have little resemblance to the drugs that are found in hospitals and pharmacies throughout the USA. we have people that almost have a stroke when their doctors mention that Fentanyl may be used preoperatively or before a medical procedure because the drug can be used safely, and it will not pollute the bloodstream and the rest of the body as long as some other similar drugs will. The DARE Program of the 1980s and the drug programs that have existed for a very long time have made many mistakes and caused many of the problems we are stilling dealing with now. It is past time for a change in the policies and guidelines that have been part of the USA since the 1960s. Portugal has done a very good job decreasing the use of drugs in the nation, and drug use has decreased significantly in Portugal since they started treating drug addiction as a medical problem and not as a moral failing and a criminal action. The people of Portugal with addiction problems get counseling, medical help and whatever is needed for them to stop being addicted to drugs. Drug use has decreased significantly. Families are less tattered by the fallout from addiction. Because drugs have been decriminalized addicts are able to rebuild their lives because they are not saddled with a criminal record for the rest of their lives. The cost of addiction has not crippled Portugal either. They have nationalized healthcare so the prisons have no incentive to keep addiction a crime. Their legal system is not backed up for the next two decades as a result of drug crimes. Criminalization of Drug use and addiction has not worked to lessen addiction and the crimes associated with addiction since the 1960s.The USA not only has an increasing number of drug addicts and the number of addicts has been increasing for as long as the USA has compiled statistics, but we have more deaths because of addiction than the USA has seen in decades. The Federal Government and the State Governments of the USA do not have the manpower, or anything else that is needed to lower the rate of addiction using the courts/criminal justice system. That ship has not only sailed, but it sank under the weight of the crimes committed and trying to look as if the USA has done something to lessen these crimes. PEOPLE ARE DYING AND BANNING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND JAILING PEOPLE HAS NOT LESSENED EITHER THE USE OF DRUGS OR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN DISTRIBUTING, TRANSPORTING AND SELLING DRUGS WORLDWIDE TO PEOPLE THAT WANT THEM AND CANNOT LEGALLY OBTAIN THEM!! PEOPLE ARE DYING BECAUSE CARTELS ARE MIXING FENTANYL/CARFENTANNYL WITH HEROIN AND OTHER DRUGS BECAUSE THE FENTANYL AND CARFENTANYL WHEN COMBINED WITH HEROIN GIVE THE ADDICTS A BETTER HIGH THAN HEROIN OR ANOTHER MORE EXPENSIVE DRUG DOES BY ITSELF!! THESE CHEMICALLY PRODUCED DRUGS ARE CHEAPER TO MAKE THEM IT IS TO SEPARATE THE OPIATES FROM THE OPIUM POPPY AND DISTRIBUTE THOSE DRUGS. PAIN PATIENTS AND PRESCRIPTIONS FOR OPIATES, SYNTHETIC OPIATES, TRANQUILIZERS, SLEEPING PILLS< ETC AND OTHER PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF THE CURRENT DRUG ADDICTION CRISIS WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THE USA!! IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE DOCTORS OR OF PEOPLE IN PAIN FROM A VAIRIETY OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS THAT CAUSE PAIN!! THE RATE OF ADDICTION FROM PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS AND OTHER CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IS LESS THAN 2%. THAT MEANS THAT 98% of THE POPULATION OF THE USA AND EVEN THE WORLD WILL NOT BECOME ADDICTED TO THESE DRUGS WHEN THEY ARE TAKEN AS THEY ARE PRESCRIBED BY A LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL!! WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE REAL FACTS WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT DRUG ADDICTION!! THE ACTUAL ADDICTION RATE IS LESS THAN 2% WHEN THE PRESCRIPTION OPIATES ARE PRESCRIBED FOR LEGITIMATE PAIN FOR A VALID MEDICAL REASON!! AN INFORMED AND WELL-EDUCATED PUBLIC IS THE BEST WAY FOR US TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN FROM THE MISUSE OF DRUGS!!!
I agree with you. Valid points.