Doctor’s Diary March 18, 2018: Your physician “quarterback”

(Snippets from the frontline)

Your physician “quarterback”

When admitted to a hospital, you might be too ill to ask questions or make good medical decisions.  Having a family member or friend to advocate for you is critical. 

As well, having an attending physician acting on your behalf as “quarterback” helps guide you to discharge.

What if though the game plan comes from hospital administrators on the sidelines?  Can you trust and be assured your doctor is acting in your best interest?

Here is the blitz faced by physician quarterbacks:

-daily coercion by hospital staff to discharge patients;

-a push of older patients to palliative care as a segue into hospice (end-of-life);

-intervening in sick emergency room admissions because they don’t meet hospital administrator’s criteria;

-forcing discharge to a nursing home claiming to the patient “Medicare won’t pay and you will be responsible for the hospital bill”;

-HMO contracted doctor obligations to fulfill hospital cost-cutting statistics; or receiving a “bonus” if they short-change your care;

-these same physicians might minimize in-hospital consults to lower cost and length of stay jeopardizing care.

So when hospitalized, make sure your quarterback is not pressured and getting their game plan from the sidelines.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.