Maybe President Obama, instead of portraying opponents of his version of
heath-care reform as liars, should cast out the mote in his own eye. (Oh no! I used a Biblical reference – must be one of those conservative right wing Know-Nothings storming the town hall meetings from coast to coast!) From him and his White House (read David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel) has flowed a never-ending stream of misinformation, disinformation, exaggerations and just plain baloney.
Take the oft-repeated claim that 50 million, 60 million or whatever -- take your pick -- Americans have no health insurance, as if our uninsured population is expiring in the nation's gutters because no one (read: Republicans) cares. But what the Obama and Democratic operatives don't tell you is the whole story, and by omitting it, they are themselves lying. Here are the facts:
The estimate of the uninsured comes from the U.S. Bureau of the Census' Current Population Survey, with analysis of the 2007 survey provided by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation. The total uninsured was 45.7 million (and is likely higher now), but of those, 9.5 million were non-citizens or illegal immigrants; 12 million were eligible for other public health programs but hadn't bothered to sign up; 7.3 million were in families that had income exceeding $84,108 a year and chose not to be covered and 9.1 million were only temporarily uninsured. That leaves 7.8 million lower-income American citizens who are uninsured long-term.
That amounts to about 2.6% of the population. As Ronald Reagan used to say, facts are stubborn things. Do we totally destroy the current system because 2.6% are uninsured long-term, or do we fix the current system to get the numbers down? The Obama administration wants you to believe that covering these 45.7 million people of unequal needs is America's highest health-care reform priority. Truth is, most Americans don't agree. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey last year found half of U.S. voters say making health care and insurance more affordable is the No. 1 health issue; that's twice as much as the second priority, which is expanding coverage for the uninsured.
“Facta, non verba”
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Dangers of Dirty VA Hospital Equipment
Thank you to Bill Poovey of the Associated Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A 60-year-old Navy veteran who had a colonoscopy last year got an unimaginable phone call recently - a blood test showed he had HIV. A second test by the Veterans Affairs Department was negative.
Now, the Tennessee man doesn't know what to think. He no longer trusts the VA and is seeking a third test from a private doctor. And, he's hired a lawyer.
The veteran is one of nearly 11,000 former sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines who could have been exposed to infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis because three VA hospitals in the Southeast treated patients with dirty equipment. Since disclosing the problem and warning patients to get follow-up blood tests, the agency has become tight lipped, fueling frustration among veterans nationwide.
On Friday, the VA revealed that another patient had tested positive for HIV, bringing the total to four such cases among patients who got endoscope procedures at hospitals in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga. The agency also said a new hepatitis case had been discovered, increasing the number of positive tests to 26. More than 4,270 veterans still have yet to get test results.
Beyond those skimpy facts, the VA has said little else, citing an ongoing investigation.
It hasn't answered questions from The Associated Press about why problems with cleaning the equipment - and possibly co-mingling infectious body fluids - went on for five years at the Miami and Murfreesboro hospitals and about a year in Augusta. The VA also refuses to say if it found similar problems at its other 150 hospitals or if more patients should get blood tests.
The VA has stressed that the positive tests are "not necessarily linked" to medical treatment at its hospitals.
Veterans are calling on the agency to release more information.
"This effort must involve continual updates on what the VA is learning about the extent of this situation," Vietnam Veterans of America President John Rowan said in a statement Thursday.
More facts are little comfort, though, to those who are already infected - and those that don't know.
"I screamed out loud, 'No' and went over and held my wife and told her what happened," said the Tennessee Navy veteran, who spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity to protect his medical privacy and his security firm employer. "We had a nice, good cry. The things that go through your mind. You think your whole world is going to end. Her world could end, too."
It was not clear whether the Tennessee man was counted as a positive HIV test by the VA.
In December, the VA discovered that the Murfreesboro facility wasn't following cleaning procedures the manufacturer recommended. It issued an internal alert for hospitals to check their procedures. The problem at Augusta was discovered in January.
On Feb. 9, the VA announced a nationwide safety check of endoscopic equipment used in colonoscopies and ear, nose and throat treatments. The procedures involve a narrow, flexible tube fitted with a fiber-optic device such as a telescope or magnifying lens that is inserted into the body.
Some veterans were warned in February to get tested, and more were alerted in March when the Miami hospital backtracked on its previous conclusion that it didn't have a problem.
The day after the first HIV infection became public April 6, the VA announced that its top medical official, Dr. Michael Kussman, was retiring. Kussman still works at the VA but could not be reached for comment. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said there was "no connection whatsoever."
The endoscopic equipment is made by Center Valley, Pa.-based Olympus American Inc., and the company has said its recommended cleaning procedures are clear.
The VA and its inspector general have started investigations, and congressional members of the Veterans Affairs Committee have asked for a hearing in late May to discuss how the VA has been handling the problem.
U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. and ranking member of the committee, said in a statement he and his staff have been briefed weekly by senior VA officials. His office declined to release more information.
Private hospitals have also spread infectious diseases with unsterilized equipment, but requirements to report such problems vary by state and there's no national regulation requiring disclosure, according to Barbara Rudolph, director of The Leapfrog Group, which advocates for quality health care.
The VA is providing a hot line for veterans and their families and posts the information it is releasing on its Web site. Because the VA hasn't ruled out other hospitals having had problems, some veterans are wondering if its more widespread.
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, former Marine Allen Lusk had several colonoscopies at the VA hospital in Iowa City and tested positive for hepatitis B in December.
"I never had it till I started going to the VA," said Lusk, 51.
He started using the VA in 2006 after he was injured when a car fell on him and he didn't have health insurance. After seeing news reports about the contaminated equipment problems elsewhere, Lusk went to his county health department for an HIV test. He tested negative.
"To be honest, I'd like to see them come out and be honest about how big this really is," he said. "It might be embarrassing, but in the long run it might be better for them."
I think the above AP release is very pertinent to my previous post on the need to reform the VA health care system. Bring the benefits to the vet instead of the vet to the benefit.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A 60-year-old Navy veteran who had a colonoscopy last year got an unimaginable phone call recently - a blood test showed he had HIV. A second test by the Veterans Affairs Department was negative.
Now, the Tennessee man doesn't know what to think. He no longer trusts the VA and is seeking a third test from a private doctor. And, he's hired a lawyer.
The veteran is one of nearly 11,000 former sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines who could have been exposed to infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis because three VA hospitals in the Southeast treated patients with dirty equipment. Since disclosing the problem and warning patients to get follow-up blood tests, the agency has become tight lipped, fueling frustration among veterans nationwide.
On Friday, the VA revealed that another patient had tested positive for HIV, bringing the total to four such cases among patients who got endoscope procedures at hospitals in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga. The agency also said a new hepatitis case had been discovered, increasing the number of positive tests to 26. More than 4,270 veterans still have yet to get test results.
Beyond those skimpy facts, the VA has said little else, citing an ongoing investigation.
It hasn't answered questions from The Associated Press about why problems with cleaning the equipment - and possibly co-mingling infectious body fluids - went on for five years at the Miami and Murfreesboro hospitals and about a year in Augusta. The VA also refuses to say if it found similar problems at its other 150 hospitals or if more patients should get blood tests.
The VA has stressed that the positive tests are "not necessarily linked" to medical treatment at its hospitals.
Veterans are calling on the agency to release more information.
"This effort must involve continual updates on what the VA is learning about the extent of this situation," Vietnam Veterans of America President John Rowan said in a statement Thursday.
More facts are little comfort, though, to those who are already infected - and those that don't know.
"I screamed out loud, 'No' and went over and held my wife and told her what happened," said the Tennessee Navy veteran, who spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity to protect his medical privacy and his security firm employer. "We had a nice, good cry. The things that go through your mind. You think your whole world is going to end. Her world could end, too."
It was not clear whether the Tennessee man was counted as a positive HIV test by the VA.
In December, the VA discovered that the Murfreesboro facility wasn't following cleaning procedures the manufacturer recommended. It issued an internal alert for hospitals to check their procedures. The problem at Augusta was discovered in January.
On Feb. 9, the VA announced a nationwide safety check of endoscopic equipment used in colonoscopies and ear, nose and throat treatments. The procedures involve a narrow, flexible tube fitted with a fiber-optic device such as a telescope or magnifying lens that is inserted into the body.
Some veterans were warned in February to get tested, and more were alerted in March when the Miami hospital backtracked on its previous conclusion that it didn't have a problem.
The day after the first HIV infection became public April 6, the VA announced that its top medical official, Dr. Michael Kussman, was retiring. Kussman still works at the VA but could not be reached for comment. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said there was "no connection whatsoever."
The endoscopic equipment is made by Center Valley, Pa.-based Olympus American Inc., and the company has said its recommended cleaning procedures are clear.
The VA and its inspector general have started investigations, and congressional members of the Veterans Affairs Committee have asked for a hearing in late May to discuss how the VA has been handling the problem.
U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. and ranking member of the committee, said in a statement he and his staff have been briefed weekly by senior VA officials. His office declined to release more information.
Private hospitals have also spread infectious diseases with unsterilized equipment, but requirements to report such problems vary by state and there's no national regulation requiring disclosure, according to Barbara Rudolph, director of The Leapfrog Group, which advocates for quality health care.
The VA is providing a hot line for veterans and their families and posts the information it is releasing on its Web site. Because the VA hasn't ruled out other hospitals having had problems, some veterans are wondering if its more widespread.
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, former Marine Allen Lusk had several colonoscopies at the VA hospital in Iowa City and tested positive for hepatitis B in December.
"I never had it till I started going to the VA," said Lusk, 51.
He started using the VA in 2006 after he was injured when a car fell on him and he didn't have health insurance. After seeing news reports about the contaminated equipment problems elsewhere, Lusk went to his county health department for an HIV test. He tested negative.
"To be honest, I'd like to see them come out and be honest about how big this really is," he said. "It might be embarrassing, but in the long run it might be better for them."
I think the above AP release is very pertinent to my previous post on the need to reform the VA health care system. Bring the benefits to the vet instead of the vet to the benefit.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Veterans' Health Care Needs Overhaul
Before I propose this, full disclosure requires that you know I am a veteran with over 7 years served with 3 tours in South East Asia during the Vietnam War. I am proposing a huge change to the Veterans' Administration's (VA) health care system. The proposal is designed to spend more money on Veterans' health care issues, but less overall than is done now.
How? Instead of funding VA hospitals and nursing homes across the country, fund the care. What does this mean? It means that the government does not need to have a large number of VA run hospitals or care centers to provide the care. It means that veterans will not have to travel hours to get the care they need and deserve. It means that they do not have to change their local doctor for one a great distance away who does not know the vet as a person, a member of the community, a loving husband wife, father, or mother. A doctor who only knows the vet as a summary of symptoms.
How can this be done? It is relatively simple, and much of the infrastructure is already in place. If the government can issue Medicare cards for seniors so they can seek medical help virtually anywhere in the country, the VA can do the same thing for the vet. Let every hospital, clinic, doctor, nursing home, pharmacy, home health, and medical equipment provider in the country who can provide the services to a Medicare recipient provide the same service to the vet. A card similar to a Medicare card could be issued to the vet, and that would be his key to the system.
For too long the veteran has been used by the politicians of this country to fund capital projects designed to benefit their chance of reelection rather than the vet. The expansion at the Veterans Home in LaSalle is a good case to review. The money the state of Illinois spent there was nothing more than a construction project to grease some government money into the local economy. If it had really been about the vet, the nursing positions and all the support positions would have been fully funded right away. Frank Mautino kept saying he was fighting for the dollars. Well, he must not have fought very well or very long. Come on, he is Speaker of the House Madigan's right hand guy. It was always about the money, not about the vet.
The VA asked for $582 million for major construction projects in FY 2008. The request for FY 2009 is $1.275 billion. This money is not about the vet. Follow the money. There are huge physical plants that have to be maintained all across this country to support this archaic VA health care system. Follow the money. The VA will only spend a paltry $100 million more on mental health for the vet. This at a time when the press is full of stories about the huge increase of post traumatic stress disorder and suicides among returning vets. If a hospital or 5 or 6 could be constructed to serve their mental health needs, they would be. Of course no one could get the services who didn't live within about an hour of such a hospital. It would not be about the vet. It is about greasing the wheels of reelection for the politicians. Follow the money.
Dick Durbin can get on the floor of the United States Senate and compare our G.I.s to war criminals and Nazis, and then have the unmitigated gall to use disabled veterans in his reelection campaign. Why can he do this? Because he greases the wheels of VA funding in the Chicago and downstate areas where the VA hospitals operate. The veterans of Illinois should have called him on his vitriol during the campaign, but we did not. Why not? Because it is not about the vet. Follow the money.
The tax money that is being wasted on this archaic Veterans' Health Care System would fund a modern health system designed to provide to our veterans care in their own local communities with their own local doctors. They could stay in their own local hospitals or nursing homes if necessary. They could receive home nursing and physical, occupational, and speech therapy in their own homes if necessary from local home health agencies. No travel! No faceless pharmacy tech grumbling as he hands you the next few months of medication! No more being treated as a summary of symptoms!
It is all within the reach of the government to do if a loud enough voice is raised. With all the trillions being spent on insurance companies, banks, and auto companies, I'd think there has to be about $1 billion dollars to change the system. That would mean saving money at the federal level. A concept they are not use to. The VA needs to be about the vet, not the next election.
Look for future postings to add more meat to the proposal. Meat like keeping regional wound and trauma centers for the retuning vet if large university hospitals can not do the job. But, if they get the money to do it, they will.
How? Instead of funding VA hospitals and nursing homes across the country, fund the care. What does this mean? It means that the government does not need to have a large number of VA run hospitals or care centers to provide the care. It means that veterans will not have to travel hours to get the care they need and deserve. It means that they do not have to change their local doctor for one a great distance away who does not know the vet as a person, a member of the community, a loving husband wife, father, or mother. A doctor who only knows the vet as a summary of symptoms.
How can this be done? It is relatively simple, and much of the infrastructure is already in place. If the government can issue Medicare cards for seniors so they can seek medical help virtually anywhere in the country, the VA can do the same thing for the vet. Let every hospital, clinic, doctor, nursing home, pharmacy, home health, and medical equipment provider in the country who can provide the services to a Medicare recipient provide the same service to the vet. A card similar to a Medicare card could be issued to the vet, and that would be his key to the system.
For too long the veteran has been used by the politicians of this country to fund capital projects designed to benefit their chance of reelection rather than the vet. The expansion at the Veterans Home in LaSalle is a good case to review. The money the state of Illinois spent there was nothing more than a construction project to grease some government money into the local economy. If it had really been about the vet, the nursing positions and all the support positions would have been fully funded right away. Frank Mautino kept saying he was fighting for the dollars. Well, he must not have fought very well or very long. Come on, he is Speaker of the House Madigan's right hand guy. It was always about the money, not about the vet.
The VA asked for $582 million for major construction projects in FY 2008. The request for FY 2009 is $1.275 billion. This money is not about the vet. Follow the money. There are huge physical plants that have to be maintained all across this country to support this archaic VA health care system. Follow the money. The VA will only spend a paltry $100 million more on mental health for the vet. This at a time when the press is full of stories about the huge increase of post traumatic stress disorder and suicides among returning vets. If a hospital or 5 or 6 could be constructed to serve their mental health needs, they would be. Of course no one could get the services who didn't live within about an hour of such a hospital. It would not be about the vet. It is about greasing the wheels of reelection for the politicians. Follow the money.
Dick Durbin can get on the floor of the United States Senate and compare our G.I.s to war criminals and Nazis, and then have the unmitigated gall to use disabled veterans in his reelection campaign. Why can he do this? Because he greases the wheels of VA funding in the Chicago and downstate areas where the VA hospitals operate. The veterans of Illinois should have called him on his vitriol during the campaign, but we did not. Why not? Because it is not about the vet. Follow the money.
The tax money that is being wasted on this archaic Veterans' Health Care System would fund a modern health system designed to provide to our veterans care in their own local communities with their own local doctors. They could stay in their own local hospitals or nursing homes if necessary. They could receive home nursing and physical, occupational, and speech therapy in their own homes if necessary from local home health agencies. No travel! No faceless pharmacy tech grumbling as he hands you the next few months of medication! No more being treated as a summary of symptoms!
It is all within the reach of the government to do if a loud enough voice is raised. With all the trillions being spent on insurance companies, banks, and auto companies, I'd think there has to be about $1 billion dollars to change the system. That would mean saving money at the federal level. A concept they are not use to. The VA needs to be about the vet, not the next election.
Look for future postings to add more meat to the proposal. Meat like keeping regional wound and trauma centers for the retuning vet if large university hospitals can not do the job. But, if they get the money to do it, they will.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Dave Potthoff for Mayor
When we were getting ready to move to the house we live in now from the house we had up on the North side of Peru (set to close on it the following day) I received a call from my neighbor to be while I was working in Litchfield (south of Springfield) to tell me that the son of the sellers was getting ready to have a big beer bash that night (the sellers had vacated the property about a month before this). He knew this because the son mowed the lawn (something he usually did not do unless a party was about to happen), and the city had delivered barrels and planks to set up the beer bar (again happened before). I called my wife at work in Peru. She called the boy's mother. I called Dave Potthoff because Mr. O'Beirne was not available at the time. Shortly after that call, according to my neighbor, a City of Peru truck showed up to pick up the "equipment" and the police showed up to tell the son (underage) there would be no party that night. I did not live in his ward, and I was not moving to his ward, BUT Dave Potthoff responded to a concern of a Peru citizen, and helped us out. That told me a lot about the man. That is one of the many reasons I support Dave Potthoff for mayor.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Pastor's Ass
Lessons For Our Lives
The Pastor's Ass
The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.
The pastor was so pleased with the donkey
that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.
The local paper read:
PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.
The next day, the local paper headline read:
BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.
The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.
The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.
The bishop fainted.
He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, she sold it to a farmer for $10.
The next day the paper read:
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.
The next day the headlines read:
NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.
The bishop was buried the next day.
The moral of the story is . .. ..
being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery .. . even shorten your life.
So be yourself and enjoy life.
Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and you'll be a lot happier and live longer!
The Pastor's Ass
The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.
The pastor was so pleased with the donkey
that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.
The local paper read:
PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.
The next day, the local paper headline read:
BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.
The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.
The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.
The bishop fainted.
He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, she sold it to a farmer for $10.
The next day the paper read:
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.
This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.
The next day the headlines read:
NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.
The bishop was buried the next day.
The moral of the story is . .. ..
being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery .. . even shorten your life.
So be yourself and enjoy life.
Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and you'll be a lot happier and live longer!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Peru Negativity
Well, I am back to putting a few thoughts on "paper". I have been reading and responding to two blogs about the Peru city election. I am backing off of that because it is too easy to get caught up in the negativity being spewed on each of the two blogs. I found myself starting to spew the same negative garbage so I have taken a step back from it. I understand why Kristy, who runs the Change for Peru blog has to step back sometimes. I recently made some comments about one of the candidates running for mayor, and all the people hiding behind their anonymous tag attacked me in many ways. I found out they know where I live, and what my name is. Hmmmm! I have thoughts on the implications of that. So, if there is any vandalism at my house, at least I can point in the general direction of may have done it.
The two campaign managers that I know of are Steve, "Jennie's Ghost", and Joe, "Zoro". I guess Steve on the west end of 7th street has a real ax to grind with Baker, and Juniper Joe is a staunch Baker supporter. Potthoff supporters are sort of caught in the middle. But, judging by the large number of anti-Potthoff postings as of late on these two blogs, he must be catching on. Should be interesting to watch.
I think the next most interesting race is the Spring Valley mayoral contest. Banks and Narczewski. Don't know who will win, but I bet there will be a fish processing plant in Spring Valley regardless of who wins.
The two campaign managers that I know of are Steve, "Jennie's Ghost", and Joe, "Zoro". I guess Steve on the west end of 7th street has a real ax to grind with Baker, and Juniper Joe is a staunch Baker supporter. Potthoff supporters are sort of caught in the middle. But, judging by the large number of anti-Potthoff postings as of late on these two blogs, he must be catching on. Should be interesting to watch.
I think the next most interesting race is the Spring Valley mayoral contest. Banks and Narczewski. Don't know who will win, but I bet there will be a fish processing plant in Spring Valley regardless of who wins.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Counter Argument For Tort Reform
I read with interest Tony Raccuglia’s impassioned plea for Tort Non-Reform in last week’s Open Forum. Mr. Raccuglia is a talented attorney whose own income and well being depends on limitless financial “recovery” for patients harmed by incompetence or simple accidents. Unfortunately he uses the emotional appeal tactics developed over 50 years in law practice rather than presenting the facts in the case he cites as evidence in his unending battle against tort reform.
The case involved damages against a pharmaceutical company, Wyeth, who produced and sold a drug designed to prevent nausea. A physician’s assistant administered the drug, Phenergan, into the patient’s artery instead of her vein. The label for the Phenergan had a warning printed in bold, upper case letters that said, INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION CAN RESULT IN GANGRENE OF THE AFFECTED EXTREMITY. Indeed, that is what happened. The patient ended up having her entire right forearm amputated because it developed gangrene just as the warning label placed on the drug label by the drug company said. So, the patient, rightly so, sued the medical clinic, the physician’s assistant, and the supervising physician for malpractice. She settled the claims for $750,000.
Her attorney then filed suit against Wyeth, due to the deeper pockets of the drug company, even though there were a total of 6 different warnings on the label not to inject into an artery. The FDA had approved the labeling as both necessary and sufficient. The FDA has physicians and pharmacists who are charged with weighing the risks and benefits of drugs from the perspective of society as a whole. Mr. Raccuglia argues that a jury of lay people with no special training sitting in the presence of an injured patient are more qualified to dictate what the terms of a warning label should be. Not sitting in the courtroom in front of that jury are the many patients who have been helped by that particular drug.
An emotional appeal by an attorney trained to support any side of an argument - black or white, guilty or innocent – as the true and correct side of any argument is best suited to dictate medical policy rather than the trained physicians and pharmacists charged with doing so. This is essentially the argument made by Mr. Raccuglia. This approach has been very successful for him and other personal injury attorneys. This is the approach that drove many physicians from most of southern Illinois. This is the approach that necessitates endless review of cancer fighting drugs found effective in Europe but not allowed to be used in this country. This is the approach that is partially responsible for the ever escalating costs of medical care. And that, dear reader, is why tort reform is so necessary.
Attorneys have totally screwed up our country's congress. We need to keep them from doing the same to our health care system before it is too late.
The case involved damages against a pharmaceutical company, Wyeth, who produced and sold a drug designed to prevent nausea. A physician’s assistant administered the drug, Phenergan, into the patient’s artery instead of her vein. The label for the Phenergan had a warning printed in bold, upper case letters that said, INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION CAN RESULT IN GANGRENE OF THE AFFECTED EXTREMITY. Indeed, that is what happened. The patient ended up having her entire right forearm amputated because it developed gangrene just as the warning label placed on the drug label by the drug company said. So, the patient, rightly so, sued the medical clinic, the physician’s assistant, and the supervising physician for malpractice. She settled the claims for $750,000.
Her attorney then filed suit against Wyeth, due to the deeper pockets of the drug company, even though there were a total of 6 different warnings on the label not to inject into an artery. The FDA had approved the labeling as both necessary and sufficient. The FDA has physicians and pharmacists who are charged with weighing the risks and benefits of drugs from the perspective of society as a whole. Mr. Raccuglia argues that a jury of lay people with no special training sitting in the presence of an injured patient are more qualified to dictate what the terms of a warning label should be. Not sitting in the courtroom in front of that jury are the many patients who have been helped by that particular drug.
An emotional appeal by an attorney trained to support any side of an argument - black or white, guilty or innocent – as the true and correct side of any argument is best suited to dictate medical policy rather than the trained physicians and pharmacists charged with doing so. This is essentially the argument made by Mr. Raccuglia. This approach has been very successful for him and other personal injury attorneys. This is the approach that drove many physicians from most of southern Illinois. This is the approach that necessitates endless review of cancer fighting drugs found effective in Europe but not allowed to be used in this country. This is the approach that is partially responsible for the ever escalating costs of medical care. And that, dear reader, is why tort reform is so necessary.
Attorneys have totally screwed up our country's congress. We need to keep them from doing the same to our health care system before it is too late.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)