In an email I received this week, the American Diabetes Association had a short list (too short for me) of diabetes supplies that you should have available in case of an emergency. Yes, those of us especially in the US, with the problems across the south with tornadoes and along the flooding Mississippi and other rivers need to take heed and be prepared. Other disasters can happen as well.
On August 27, 2010, I wrote about disaster preparedness and it is always good to review your plan. What bothers me about most plans, is the lack of cautions when they say to have the supplies where they can be gotten to in an emergency. For those of us on insulin, no caution or warning is made to make sure to keep the insulin refrigerated, or if not, that the insulin vials be rotated out and used before they can go bad. Insulin vials can be kept unrefrigerated for up to 28 days. Even if they are kept in the refrigerator, once the plastic cap is removed, the shelf life is 28 days.
This means that you must be able to use the vial before the end of 28 days. I normally use a vial in 7 to 10 days of one type and about 14 days of the other type. You will have to know your own usage rate to be able to rotate and use before they expire. The same would apply for other medications you inject. Normally 28 days is the unrefrigerated life for these unless clearly stated otherwise on the package. If not stated, ask your pharmacist about the unrefrigerated shelf life.
The ADA advice is still good for emergency preparedness. They suggest that a three day supply of diabetes supplies be kept in a clearly marked, and convenient, container to be carried with you when going to a shelter or evacuation. The ADA list which, depending on how you take care of your diabetes, could include oral medication, insulin, insulin delivery supplies, lancets, test strips, extra batteries for your meter, and a quick-acting source of glucose. Just don't forget to take the container with you and your meter.
The ADA did suggest something that a lot of others forget. They suggest putting a list of emergency contacts in the container and to wear a medical identification that will enable emergency medical personnel to identify and address your medical needs. They went on to say that while you are thinking about this to notify those around you about your diabetes as it could make a difference in a time of need, and how you might be treated for maintaining your good health.
To this, I would add a supply of other medications that you take, a list of each, and the purpose for taking them. Have this list in the container also. Also include a list of phone numbers for the pharmacy, doctors, and anyone else that could know where to get your supplies if the emergency extends for more than three days. A list of prescription numbers should also be considered and alternative pharmacies in the chain where you obtain your medications. Ask your pharmacist if there are other pharmacies that have access to your prescriptions within the chain of stores.
I would suggest reading my prior blog, ADA's PDF file and heeding the instructions that fit your needs. Some items can easily be overlooked, but I hope between this and my prior blog that you can put an effective and doable plan in place.
I have tried to post this the last two days, but this site has been read-only for a few days. Apparently their maintenance took longer or did not work as planned.
May 13, 2011
May 10, 2011
Who Is Responsible for Patients' Health Literacy?
Patients health literacy is a common theme lately in releases from the various medical associations. All are directed at the patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals and attempting to provide more information of value to all concerned. What is generating this largess of information? Has all the poor web sites, studies showing lack of reliable information in the internet, or just good public relations finally driving the different medical professional organizations to get active.
Let's hope all of the above is true. Our medical insurance industry is doing almost nothing to help doctors in educating the new patients with diabetes or other chronic diseases. This would take too much from their profits. In many of the new websites and other information, it is the big pharmaceutical companies that are stepping forward to provide assistance as cosponsors or just financial support.
Our medical insurance companies may one day come to regret their greed and refusal to help. Federal and state regulations are already under analysis to determine if the medical insurance industry is violating moral as well as legal obligations in their rejection of patients' needs. I am not sure big pharmaceutical companies are innocent of charges either, considering the Vermont case awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court later this summer.
Yes, if patients are in cities that have diabetes educators and dietitians, medical insurance will cover a few classes, and then no continuing education for a period of years. Medicare is even less helpful.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) now states that physicians, nurses, social workers — everyone in the health care field — must make sure that our patients fully understand their health condition and their treatment. They also emphasize the importance of patients taking their medications exactly as directed. We simply can't assume that a patient understands because she/he nods their head or because we think they seem educated.
One important point shows that that they are taking this obligation seriously. They state that asking our patients to repeat back to us what they understand is enormously helpful in making sure they really do comprehend. This can help avoid the stereotype of noncompliant being applied. They also advise using technical translators to assist when there is a language difference.
Read their article on committee opinions here.
Let's hope all of the above is true. Our medical insurance industry is doing almost nothing to help doctors in educating the new patients with diabetes or other chronic diseases. This would take too much from their profits. In many of the new websites and other information, it is the big pharmaceutical companies that are stepping forward to provide assistance as cosponsors or just financial support.
Our medical insurance companies may one day come to regret their greed and refusal to help. Federal and state regulations are already under analysis to determine if the medical insurance industry is violating moral as well as legal obligations in their rejection of patients' needs. I am not sure big pharmaceutical companies are innocent of charges either, considering the Vermont case awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court later this summer.
Yes, if patients are in cities that have diabetes educators and dietitians, medical insurance will cover a few classes, and then no continuing education for a period of years. Medicare is even less helpful.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) now states that physicians, nurses, social workers — everyone in the health care field — must make sure that our patients fully understand their health condition and their treatment. They also emphasize the importance of patients taking their medications exactly as directed. We simply can't assume that a patient understands because she/he nods their head or because we think they seem educated.
One important point shows that that they are taking this obligation seriously. They state that asking our patients to repeat back to us what they understand is enormously helpful in making sure they really do comprehend. This can help avoid the stereotype of noncompliant being applied. They also advise using technical translators to assist when there is a language difference.
Read their article on committee opinions here.
May 8, 2011
Telemedicine Coming of Age?
This is not about diabetes, but may affect treatment of diabetes in the future. Telemedicine has been around for a few years, but with many of the advances in recent years, there is now cause to feel more confident about its use and the good that it can do to help areas without large medical centers and specifically rural areas.
Telemedicine is finally getting the light it seems to deserve. In three articles appearing on May 3, 2011, advances in telemedicine are moving forward. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has open the door to make it easier for smaller hospitals to take advantage of doctors with specialties they can not afford. Prior to the new rules, they were required to perform medical checks on all doctors they used as if they were employing them.
Now they are required to do this only for doctors not employed by hospitals elsewhere. If the doctor is already on a hospital staff, they are deemed eligible to operate via electronic means in any hospital that needs their services and Medicare and Medicaid will cover the costs when there is a proven need. The full article covering this is here.
The more important one for me is that our veterans will now get the attention they deserve for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). This will allow veterans to avoid long travel times to centers distant from where they live to get the care they need in dealing with PTSD. Previously the veteran was required to travel to major medical centers for the care they needed.
This was not conducive to many veterans because of cost, and for many the fear of traveling and going into places that may be crowded. The studies have shown that costs are less, patients are happier, and the long-term benefits have increased. Not measured is the improvement in the quality of life for the veterans receiving treatment via telemedicine. Read this article here.
The third article is from Florida and also showed improvement in patient care for trauma patients and those needing medical attention immediately. Instead of automatically transporting the patient to the local hospital to have them forward the patient on the the trauma center at a cost of approximately $10,000, telemedicine can determine with the medical personnel on the scene where to send the patient.
This saves time and some monies as if the trip to the trauma center is necessary assistance can be provided en route to the emergency personnel. The center can also assemble the team necessary to treat the patient more effectively upon arrival.
These three articles emphasize the importance and possible cost savings of telemedicine for the advantage of the patients. Expect to hear more about telemedicine during the coming year. Read the last article here.
Telemedicine is finally getting the light it seems to deserve. In three articles appearing on May 3, 2011, advances in telemedicine are moving forward. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has open the door to make it easier for smaller hospitals to take advantage of doctors with specialties they can not afford. Prior to the new rules, they were required to perform medical checks on all doctors they used as if they were employing them.
Now they are required to do this only for doctors not employed by hospitals elsewhere. If the doctor is already on a hospital staff, they are deemed eligible to operate via electronic means in any hospital that needs their services and Medicare and Medicaid will cover the costs when there is a proven need. The full article covering this is here.
The more important one for me is that our veterans will now get the attention they deserve for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). This will allow veterans to avoid long travel times to centers distant from where they live to get the care they need in dealing with PTSD. Previously the veteran was required to travel to major medical centers for the care they needed.
This was not conducive to many veterans because of cost, and for many the fear of traveling and going into places that may be crowded. The studies have shown that costs are less, patients are happier, and the long-term benefits have increased. Not measured is the improvement in the quality of life for the veterans receiving treatment via telemedicine. Read this article here.
The third article is from Florida and also showed improvement in patient care for trauma patients and those needing medical attention immediately. Instead of automatically transporting the patient to the local hospital to have them forward the patient on the the trauma center at a cost of approximately $10,000, telemedicine can determine with the medical personnel on the scene where to send the patient.
This saves time and some monies as if the trip to the trauma center is necessary assistance can be provided en route to the emergency personnel. The center can also assemble the team necessary to treat the patient more effectively upon arrival.
These three articles emphasize the importance and possible cost savings of telemedicine for the advantage of the patients. Expect to hear more about telemedicine during the coming year. Read the last article here.
May 6, 2011
Walgreens Now in Minimal Primary Care Mode
When I wrote about this back in November, I thought this was going to be a lot more comprehensive primary care. It may well get there, but for now Walgreens is doing something positive and at a reasonable cost. For people without insurance, this could be very beneficial. And time will determine if this is successful.
Walgreens is advising people that test over the limits to consult their doctor and share the results with the doctor. The one question bothering me is whether they require fasting before the taking the tests. If people can just walk in and have the tests done, then this could be a weakness in the system that needs to be corrected to make the tests more reliable.
The press release did state that the tests are not for diagnostic and treatment purposes and they are not conclusive as to the absence or presence of any health condition. Since the pharmacists administer the tests by finger stick this would have to be the case. The costs of the tests are - total cholesterol and HDL - $30; blood glucose - $20; A1C (for self-identified diabetics only) - $35; and blood pressure - free with every health test. This totals to $85.
While the tests are not cheap for the finger stick method, this could give people an idea about whether to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician. Not all Walgreens stores and outlets are doing these tests, you can look here for one near you that does the tests.
This if nothing more is doing some preventive care and for people over certain ages should at least have these test on a regular basis. This is explained in the article here, and should be read by everyone. One age requirement is that the person must be at least age 18 or older.
At present, I have not read about any other national or regional pharmacies offering these tests, but I am sure we will hear about this if and when it happens.
Walgreens is advising people that test over the limits to consult their doctor and share the results with the doctor. The one question bothering me is whether they require fasting before the taking the tests. If people can just walk in and have the tests done, then this could be a weakness in the system that needs to be corrected to make the tests more reliable.
The press release did state that the tests are not for diagnostic and treatment purposes and they are not conclusive as to the absence or presence of any health condition. Since the pharmacists administer the tests by finger stick this would have to be the case. The costs of the tests are - total cholesterol and HDL - $30; blood glucose - $20; A1C (for self-identified diabetics only) - $35; and blood pressure - free with every health test. This totals to $85.
While the tests are not cheap for the finger stick method, this could give people an idea about whether to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician. Not all Walgreens stores and outlets are doing these tests, you can look here for one near you that does the tests.
This if nothing more is doing some preventive care and for people over certain ages should at least have these test on a regular basis. This is explained in the article here, and should be read by everyone. One age requirement is that the person must be at least age 18 or older.
At present, I have not read about any other national or regional pharmacies offering these tests, but I am sure we will hear about this if and when it happens.
May 4, 2011
Will We Gain An Advantage Over Diabetes Misinformation?
This is something that many should watch for in the following months. It could be a huge advantage for us or for some of us it may be a bust. It will depend on whether the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologist (AACE) follows their own recent guidelines allowing for individualized goals or if that will not be a part of this and individualized goals will be ignored for safety reasons.
We will need to watch for when this will happen on the AACE web site. The information that will be presented will be the AACE, cosponsoring the new online resource with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The launch date is to be sometime in June. At present the emphasis seems to be for Type 2 diabetes. If this can fill the gap in education needed by people unaware of hypoglycemia mentioned in my last blog, then it will have succeeded quite well.
According to the spokesman, this will be a valuable resource for patients and health professionals as it will direct them to sources for new research and patient education. Whether the site will allow both sides to be seen by patients will remain to be seen.
The purpose of the new web site is to direct patients to educational resources that provide credible information about diabetes. It will not be there to provide a new patient information about diabetes, but assist them in avoiding unreliable information. It will be available for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to aid all in forming a foundation for treatment and care decisions.
The sites they will be directed to will be vetted by AACE diabetes experts and the sites will be evaluated for quality and accuracy in the information it provides to patients and health professionals. The experts say that about 90 percent of people get their information from the internet and that on good days, 20 percent at most is reliable.
They also state that 90 to 95 percent of diabetics never see a specialist. So this is a resource of for thousands of physicians who provide healthcare to people with Type 2 diabetes. They want the online resource to help these healthcare professional to give them the most current guidelines for Type 2 diabetes treatment and methods for establishing individualized care plans for their patients with diabetes.
There is a lot to be done and it is going to be interesting to see the outcome of this effort. We do need this, if nothing more than a way to start eliminating many of the “cure” sites and sites that propagate much misinformation. It will also be interesting to see of the media picks up on this and does any research to improve their reporting.
Read the article here.
We will need to watch for when this will happen on the AACE web site. The information that will be presented will be the AACE, cosponsoring the new online resource with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The launch date is to be sometime in June. At present the emphasis seems to be for Type 2 diabetes. If this can fill the gap in education needed by people unaware of hypoglycemia mentioned in my last blog, then it will have succeeded quite well.
According to the spokesman, this will be a valuable resource for patients and health professionals as it will direct them to sources for new research and patient education. Whether the site will allow both sides to be seen by patients will remain to be seen.
The purpose of the new web site is to direct patients to educational resources that provide credible information about diabetes. It will not be there to provide a new patient information about diabetes, but assist them in avoiding unreliable information. It will be available for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to aid all in forming a foundation for treatment and care decisions.
The sites they will be directed to will be vetted by AACE diabetes experts and the sites will be evaluated for quality and accuracy in the information it provides to patients and health professionals. The experts say that about 90 percent of people get their information from the internet and that on good days, 20 percent at most is reliable.
They also state that 90 to 95 percent of diabetics never see a specialist. So this is a resource of for thousands of physicians who provide healthcare to people with Type 2 diabetes. They want the online resource to help these healthcare professional to give them the most current guidelines for Type 2 diabetes treatment and methods for establishing individualized care plans for their patients with diabetes.
There is a lot to be done and it is going to be interesting to see the outcome of this effort. We do need this, if nothing more than a way to start eliminating many of the “cure” sites and sites that propagate much misinformation. It will also be interesting to see of the media picks up on this and does any research to improve their reporting.
Read the article here.
May 2, 2011
Why Are You Not Wearing Medic Alert Jewelry?
The DOC (diabetes online community) keeps bringing up the topic of people with diabetes getting into trouble in our hospitals. This is not a good thing, but if people learn from this and want to apply the added knowledge to prevent problems for themselves and others in the future, then the experience, while not desirable, has given them a good lesson.
Many of the situations are crying for solutions. When entering the hospitals for a scheduled event, and when entering the hospitals in emergencies, all seem to have problems with hospital staff not caring about the fact that they have diabetes or lack of education by the hospital staff in caring for people with diabetes.
Many people are calling for education, but this will not work until the hospitals develop a more caring attitude and pass this down to the staff. This is a top down problem and can only be solved when hospital administration enforces a caring attitude and assists in education for the weak areas. Presently, hospitals are more interested in profits and the new laws coming into effect over the next few years and how the laws will affect hospital profits than they are in patient care or safety. A few hospitals are in the minority in putting care and patient safety first. Many of these are the non-profit hospitals.
Many people are correct in their complaints. What I am not seeing is what actions are being taken to prevent problems in the future. No one is talking about patient rights. No one is talking about having patient advocates available. No one is talking about wearing any medical alert jewelry to alert medical personnel from EMTs to doctors in the ER to the fact the person has diabetes and which type.
So I will take this opportunity to suggest a little education of friends or a trusted friend, if you do not have a family member that can act for you, should be high on the list of things to do. If the same person can act as an advocate for you so much the better. Just make sure that the trusted family member or trusted friend knows what is required and has the necessary papers to act on your behalf if needed. Make sure that you carry a list of contacts that hopefully will not be lost in an accident.
Then make sure that you are wearing a piece of jewelry that had the medical information necessary for law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, and hospital staff will know that you have diabetes. If you have alert jewelry and if people call the number listed, you should have help.
If you do not do any of the above and an emergency happens, then you will have to be satisfied if something goes wrong. Many people with Type 2 diabetes will not disclose to others that they have diabetes. It is this that gets them into problems. Vanity also gets people into trouble because they will not be seen wearing medic alert jewelry, or as some people are now doing, having medical alert tattoos on different places of their body.
It is the people that do everything right and still have problems that I can sympathize with and agree they have been wronged.
Many of the situations are crying for solutions. When entering the hospitals for a scheduled event, and when entering the hospitals in emergencies, all seem to have problems with hospital staff not caring about the fact that they have diabetes or lack of education by the hospital staff in caring for people with diabetes.
Many people are calling for education, but this will not work until the hospitals develop a more caring attitude and pass this down to the staff. This is a top down problem and can only be solved when hospital administration enforces a caring attitude and assists in education for the weak areas. Presently, hospitals are more interested in profits and the new laws coming into effect over the next few years and how the laws will affect hospital profits than they are in patient care or safety. A few hospitals are in the minority in putting care and patient safety first. Many of these are the non-profit hospitals.
Many people are correct in their complaints. What I am not seeing is what actions are being taken to prevent problems in the future. No one is talking about patient rights. No one is talking about having patient advocates available. No one is talking about wearing any medical alert jewelry to alert medical personnel from EMTs to doctors in the ER to the fact the person has diabetes and which type.
So I will take this opportunity to suggest a little education of friends or a trusted friend, if you do not have a family member that can act for you, should be high on the list of things to do. If the same person can act as an advocate for you so much the better. Just make sure that the trusted family member or trusted friend knows what is required and has the necessary papers to act on your behalf if needed. Make sure that you carry a list of contacts that hopefully will not be lost in an accident.
Then make sure that you are wearing a piece of jewelry that had the medical information necessary for law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, and hospital staff will know that you have diabetes. If you have alert jewelry and if people call the number listed, you should have help.
If you do not do any of the above and an emergency happens, then you will have to be satisfied if something goes wrong. Many people with Type 2 diabetes will not disclose to others that they have diabetes. It is this that gets them into problems. Vanity also gets people into trouble because they will not be seen wearing medic alert jewelry, or as some people are now doing, having medical alert tattoos on different places of their body.
It is the people that do everything right and still have problems that I can sympathize with and agree they have been wronged.
April 30, 2011
Patients Lack Knowledge About Hypoglycemia
I have to take my hat off to the endocrinologists. They took a survey which puts them in a bad light and published it. Most organizations would have put this information through the shredder. Few in the medical profession are willing to to look problems in the eye and address it head on. Will they succeed? – that remains to be seen. There are a lot of hurdles to over come, the biggest is our medical insurance industry, Medicare, and the complexities of the new healthcare law.
Why are patients with diabetes unaware of hypoglycemia and what causes hypoglycemia? To me the broader implication is the lack of time by the medical community at large. Many primary care physicians and doctors in family medicine do not have the time or resources to educate patients. Many are in rural areas, small towns, and even many small city settings that do not have diabetes educators available. Many do not even have diabetes support groups to get support from.
Then add to this our medical insurance industry led by Medicare, that is cutting costs where ever possible and we have a situation ripe for failure. Many patients when they are newly diagnosed are in shock, causing very few to listen carefully to what they are being told by the doctor. Therefore, the doctors should be able to schedule another appointment shortly thereafter to do some education, but most of our insurance companies will not reimburse for the time.
The results of a survey conducted by the American College of Endocrinology therefore does not surprise me. This also shows just how reluctant our medical professionals are to recommend good web sites and help their patients get the information needed. One site listed here has some information; however, there could be a better presentation and one that is more patient oriented and not so sterile and written for doctors. The information is presented in PDF files that can be downloaded and printed for reference.
The other part of the survey, not mentioned, is where the survey was taken. If it was taken from a cross sample, then good. Otherwise from only rural areas, or only large metropolitan areas could also greatly affect the outcome of the survey. National online surveys can be notoriously misleading and little reliance should be placed on them.
The only real part of this survey is that the numbers, regardless of the method of obtaining them, show that the USA has a serious problem and needs to find a way to educate people with diabetes. Read a doctors interpretation of the survey here and the news release here. The PDF file for low blood sugar is here and the PDF file for high blood sugar is here.
Why are patients with diabetes unaware of hypoglycemia and what causes hypoglycemia? To me the broader implication is the lack of time by the medical community at large. Many primary care physicians and doctors in family medicine do not have the time or resources to educate patients. Many are in rural areas, small towns, and even many small city settings that do not have diabetes educators available. Many do not even have diabetes support groups to get support from.
Then add to this our medical insurance industry led by Medicare, that is cutting costs where ever possible and we have a situation ripe for failure. Many patients when they are newly diagnosed are in shock, causing very few to listen carefully to what they are being told by the doctor. Therefore, the doctors should be able to schedule another appointment shortly thereafter to do some education, but most of our insurance companies will not reimburse for the time.
The results of a survey conducted by the American College of Endocrinology therefore does not surprise me. This also shows just how reluctant our medical professionals are to recommend good web sites and help their patients get the information needed. One site listed here has some information; however, there could be a better presentation and one that is more patient oriented and not so sterile and written for doctors. The information is presented in PDF files that can be downloaded and printed for reference.
The other part of the survey, not mentioned, is where the survey was taken. If it was taken from a cross sample, then good. Otherwise from only rural areas, or only large metropolitan areas could also greatly affect the outcome of the survey. National online surveys can be notoriously misleading and little reliance should be placed on them.
The only real part of this survey is that the numbers, regardless of the method of obtaining them, show that the USA has a serious problem and needs to find a way to educate people with diabetes. Read a doctors interpretation of the survey here and the news release here. The PDF file for low blood sugar is here and the PDF file for high blood sugar is here.
April 27, 2011
Hospital and Medical Mismanagement of Diabetes
Some people with diabetes are being medically mismanaged while in the hospitals in the USA. Why? Because of lack of diabetes education by the hospital staff and outdated hospital management rules for diabetes. Scott Johnson posted an excellent example of this on his blog scottsdiabetes and you should take time to read it now. Some of the comments also bring out some of the problems faced by people with diabetes in the hospital setting.
Disturbing? Most definitely! Why is this happening? In addition to the above reason, patients also need to shoulder some of the blame. Most are not aware that there are patients' rights that must be adhered to by hospitals and many hospitals ignore these rights and enforce their own rules and regulations which most often are not in favor of the patient and the patients' rights. When the day comes that these hospitals are sued for patient neglect and failure to serve the patients and their rights, then maybe, just maybe, some of these highhanded hospitals will get the wake-up call they so desperately deserve.
When I wrote about this back on July 19, 2010, I had not anticipated the extent of medical malpractice that exists in some of our hospitals when dealing with patients with diabetes – and not just those with Type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, not all hospitals are this bad, and some are very accommodating to people with diabetes. Therefore, if at all possible, you need to do your homework before entering the hospital yourself or if a family member or relative with diabetes enters a hospital.
Learn from the experience of others like Scott Johnson writes about. Then talk to your doctors, preferable you should have an endocrinologist, but many people do not. Learn about your patient rights by reading this and related articles this article refers to. Make sure that you ask your doctor for a "self-management order," a document that will permit you to take care of your own testing and diabetes management if you are capable during your stay in the hospital.
If you know when you are entering the hospital, be sure that the hospital will accept the self-management order and that you are capable of using your own testing supplies and medications. I urge you to take time to read my previous blog above as there are some important points in it.
Now is also an excellent time to determine if you have a family member(s) or a trusted friend(s) that will be able to advocate for you if you are admitted to the hospital under emergency circumstances and make them aware of your needs and the paperwork they need to have available. This would include a limited medical power of attorney, a self-management order when you become capable of managing your own care. Do not leave this step unattended to as you cannot know when an emergency will arise.
A little planning now can actually get you better care when you desperately need it. Do not wait for mistakes and mismanagement of your health care to happen when in a hospital, it can and does happen more than we would like. Take time to read the referenced articles and blogs above to avoid many of the problems. Get the necessary paperwork completed and copies available to those that may need it!
I realize that many people will still not have taken these steps to assure their hospital stay is handled properly and I sincerely hope that I will not continue to read many more of these disturbing problems for others with diabetes that happen while in the hospital.
Disturbing? Most definitely! Why is this happening? In addition to the above reason, patients also need to shoulder some of the blame. Most are not aware that there are patients' rights that must be adhered to by hospitals and many hospitals ignore these rights and enforce their own rules and regulations which most often are not in favor of the patient and the patients' rights. When the day comes that these hospitals are sued for patient neglect and failure to serve the patients and their rights, then maybe, just maybe, some of these highhanded hospitals will get the wake-up call they so desperately deserve.
When I wrote about this back on July 19, 2010, I had not anticipated the extent of medical malpractice that exists in some of our hospitals when dealing with patients with diabetes – and not just those with Type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, not all hospitals are this bad, and some are very accommodating to people with diabetes. Therefore, if at all possible, you need to do your homework before entering the hospital yourself or if a family member or relative with diabetes enters a hospital.
Learn from the experience of others like Scott Johnson writes about. Then talk to your doctors, preferable you should have an endocrinologist, but many people do not. Learn about your patient rights by reading this and related articles this article refers to. Make sure that you ask your doctor for a "self-management order," a document that will permit you to take care of your own testing and diabetes management if you are capable during your stay in the hospital.
If you know when you are entering the hospital, be sure that the hospital will accept the self-management order and that you are capable of using your own testing supplies and medications. I urge you to take time to read my previous blog above as there are some important points in it.
Now is also an excellent time to determine if you have a family member(s) or a trusted friend(s) that will be able to advocate for you if you are admitted to the hospital under emergency circumstances and make them aware of your needs and the paperwork they need to have available. This would include a limited medical power of attorney, a self-management order when you become capable of managing your own care. Do not leave this step unattended to as you cannot know when an emergency will arise.
A little planning now can actually get you better care when you desperately need it. Do not wait for mistakes and mismanagement of your health care to happen when in a hospital, it can and does happen more than we would like. Take time to read the referenced articles and blogs above to avoid many of the problems. Get the necessary paperwork completed and copies available to those that may need it!
I realize that many people will still not have taken these steps to assure their hospital stay is handled properly and I sincerely hope that I will not continue to read many more of these disturbing problems for others with diabetes that happen while in the hospital.
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