Blog Post Supports Anne Mitchell, RN
An opinion on the Anne Mitchell case is posted by David Gorski on Science Based Medicine. Anne Mitchell, RN stands trial for reporting behavior by a doctor that she asserts is medically inappropriate. She was fired from her job at a Winkler County, Texas hospital for filing the anonymous report. If convicted, Mitchell faces up to 10 years of prison, and a felony record.
Related posts on this blog:
Texas Nurses Accused in Whistler Blower Case
Update on Vicki Galle and Anne Mitchell Whistle Blowing Case
Update on Vicki Galle & Anne Mitchell Whistle-Blowing Case
(study) JParadisi 2010
I recently posted Texas Nurses Accused of Harassment in Whistle Blower Case about Vicki Galle and Anne Mitchell, two nurses accused of intent to do harm by reporting a doctor for unsafe medical practice. Charges against Vicki Galle were dismissed, however, 52 year-old Anne Mitchell, if convicted, faces up to 10 years in prison, according to an article written by Kevin Sack, published February 6 in The New York Times.
Mitchell is a registered nurse and Compliance Officer for the hospital that fired both her and Galle in June, 2009. The Texas Nurses Association supports Anne Mitchell, and publishes updates about the case on their website. You can also donate to the legal defense fund of Anne Mitchell on the TNA website.
NYT Well Blog Post: When the Patient Can’t Afford the Care
Dr. Pauline Chen posts about When the Patient Can’t Afford the Care on the New York Times Well Blog. Medical schools have added courses to educate physicians on insurance programs and coverage. Apparently, patient noncompliance sometimes occurs because patients can’t afford their prescription medications and outpatient treatment. The comments from patients unable to afford their prescribed health care are most compelling. I posted a comment (#89).
I Wish I’d Said It
There is no way this winter is ever going to end as long as that groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see anyway out of it.
Bill Murray as Phil Connor, from the movie Ground Hog’s Day
Who’s Flying the Plane?
We've Gotten Off Track photo: JParadisi 2009
Perhaps a change of nomenclature is needed in health care. Physicians should be called Pilots, and nurses renamed First Officers, like in the airline industry, which the health care industry often compares itself to. The term doctor’s orders would change to instructions. Instead of a nurse requesting orders from a doctor, the First Officer would ask for further instructions from The Pilot. The name changes promote the team approach that more accurately describes patient care.
Gallup Poll: Power Elite Believes Nurses Should Have More Say in Policy, Management posted by Shawn Kennedy on the American Journal of Nursing blog, Off The Charts quotes that “69% of ‘people who run things in this country’ see nurses as having little influence on health reform.” The poll ranks nurses at the very bottom of the list of groups influencing health reform, under patients, who lag behind physicians. Listed as the most influential are government, insurance and pharmaceutical executives. In other words, the people flying the plane do not control the plane. Decisions about health care policy are made by people who are not on the plane. Sometimes the decision makers aren’t even at the airport.
That’s not to say that physicians and nurses should dictate health care policy without thought or consideration of cost for treatment or alternative options. In the short story Voyagers, I write about recognizing the need for administrators, whose jobs keep hospitals solvent and regulated. However, demoting nurses, doctors, and the patients themselves to the bottom of the list of influential voices in health care policy, while allowing corporate administrators to have the most influence, seems a crippling case of the tail wagging the dog.
Off the Chart Gives Nod to Blog Post
JParadisi RN’s blog post, A Metaphor: Health Care Reform on Life Support, was mentioned yesterday on the American Journal of Nursing’s blog, Off the Chart.
Thanks AJN!
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I Wish I’d Said It
Going to the studio every day is a really bad habit-
It’s like being an employee,
You have to live life, and from life comes ideas.
Marina Abramovic
Oh, Did You Want Anti-Nausea Medications with Your Chemotherapy? You’ll Have to Pay Out of Pocket for That
A Metaphor: Health Care Reform on Life Support
oil on wood (2008) artist: JParadisi
The idea that the Health Care Reform bill is on life support is disappointing, but not surprising. It was admitted in a weakened state of health. It appears suspiciously a victim of domestic violence by special interest groups. The bruises on its body resemble the outline of handprints of the insurance companies it was created to protect our citizens from. Already, my patients are complaining of rising health insurance deductibles this year. It is estimated that 14 million people will still be uninsured if the Health Care Reform bill rallies and passes. It is a complex piece of legislation that confuses even those of us who strongly advocate for health care reform. I think that’s where the undecided get lost and fall to the wayside; afraid to support what they do not understand.
In my grief over Health Care reform, I console myself by remembering that at least it’s a step in the right direction. At least an estimated 34 million currently uninsured citizens will be insured, and people who are currently insured won’t lose their insurance if they change jobs or become ill. These are progressive and necessary improvements to the present situation. I tell myself that if we lose this moment in history, it won’t come again anytime soon. Something is better than nothing. Fight for the life of the Health Care Reform bill, don’t let it slip away.
But I know, even if successfully resuscitated, it will not be the strong, idealistic super hero it once was. It is anemic. The bill has been bled by special interests groups and insurance companies. It’s vital organs have been damaged by poor perfusion (lack of blood supply). It is now being threatened with further leeching in order to get even a shadow of its former self passed into legislation.
Health Care is a human rights issue. Human rights issues are intimately linked to economics. Historically, in most countries, including the United States, it is this link that causes resistance. It is the cause of resistance to Health Care Reform now. Until Health Care is recognized as a fundamental human right, and not a for- profit industry, our citizens will continue to suffer.
Texas Nurses Accused of Harrassment in Whistle Blower Case
No one is free when others are repressed.
Don't Tell (study) JParadisi 2009
attributed to Mahatma Gandhi
For a couple of years, I worked in Quality Improvement (QI) for a nursing department. My job was to review error and near miss error reports, tease out the cause(s) and develop strategies preventing error recurrence. I learned a lot of things that helped make patients safer in a hospital. I loved that job.
So, I am concerned about a situation I became aware of last week in a post by Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor in chief, on the American Journal of Nursing’s blog Off the Chart. In the last paragraph of her post, she discusses the case of two Registered Nurses in Texas, who are facing prosecution as whistle blowers for reporting a physician of behavior they assert is unsafe for patients. Vicki Galle was in charge of the Hospital’s Quality Improvement and Anne Mitchell was the hospital’s Compliance Officer. For readers not involved in health care, this means it was their jobs to investigate hospital safety issues and report noncompliance ( people who aren’t following the rules). Both nurses were terminated from their jobs in June, 2009. Although Texas is a state with laws protecting whistle blowers, the laws do not prevent the physician they reported from filing a harassment suit against the pair. Sounds like another “damned if we do, damned if we don’t” scenario that health care providers can
inadvertently find themselves party to. Please read more about this complex case on the Texas Nurses Association website. There is also link to click which allows you to contribute to the legal defense fund of these two nurses, should you wish.
A Little About Myself
Readers’ Comments: What You’re Saying