Guaranteed disaster

[nancylebov]

Hospitals will be penalized for high readmission rates.

If you punish people for trying to fix the results of their mistakes, what do you think will happen? Fewer mistakes? More efforts to conceal mistakes?

To be fair, not all readmissions are the result of a mistake by the hospital. Those readmissions will be discouraged, too.

Comments

[gwendally.livejournal.com]

I had surgery a few years ago and developed an infection. I called the doctor's office to ask for an antibiotic. I explained that I had red streaks leading away from the incision site and was starting to feel sick. I wanted them to phone in an antibiotic to my local pharmacy rather than making me travel the hour to the Big City to be seen - but if they insisted I could go to my local G.P. to get the antibiotics.

They blew a gasket. I couldn't understand why they were resisting this so much. They stated that it couldn't possibly be an infection, that I was wrong, that I was trying to get antibiotics deceitfully, that it wasn't POSSIBLE for me to have an infection.

They quizzed me on my wound care. When I told them that the wound (in my bikini line) was exposed while I went pee they got all relieved and said "aha, you introduced the infection yourself! Sure, have some antibiotics."

Because, yeah, going pee wasn't a foreseeable thing? Whatever.

Later I realized that they were judged on post-op infection rates. I was naive back then. But also knew I had an infection; if I had been more gullible or easier swayed by their assertions that - sight unseen I was JUST FINE - then I would have gotten even MORE sick.

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

That's really appalling. Eek.

[thette.livejournal.com]

There's not enough facepalm in the world.