Nurses File Civil Lawsuit Against District Attorney, Co. Hospital, Doctor and Others 8/28/09
Beau BermanCBS 7 Newsbberman@cbs7.comAugust 28, 2009Kermit, Texas -
Two nurses from Winkler County charged with "misuse of official information for the purpose of harassment" are fighting back, taking aim at the county, hospital and others in a civil action lawsuit.
Former nurses Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle are suing: Winkler County, the Winkler County Memorial Hospital, Stan Wiley (the hospital administrator), Sheriff Robert Roberts, Doctor Rolando Arafiles, County Attorney Scott Tidwell and District Attorney Mike Fostel.
This suit accuses these defendants of violating the nurses right to free speech and due process.The document says all the parties involved have conspired to intimidate and threaten the nurses from filing any civil action and have violated the Texas Whistleblower statute, the Texas occupational code, and the Texas Health and Safety Code.
"The District Attorney had told my clients that if they would agree not to sue the hospital or the county, or any of the hospital employees, and walk away from this issue, that they would agree to dismiss the endightment against them for the felonies. Which, we believe is a civil rights violation and improper to start using that as leverage", says the nurses' attorney, Brian Carney.
That request described by Carney is detailed in a letter sent to the nurses in July.
By law, those named in the lawsuit have 30 days to respond. Any trial would be held at the Federal Courthouse in Pecos. The nurses' motion to dismiss charges in the criminal trial is still pending.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
I'm Going to Disney World!
...or having a cardiac bypass
Found this gem today on the Ohio Hospital Association web site
What's next? Mouse ears would be a nice touch on our scrubs and most nurses are already required to "read script" to their patients...."Welcome to Ivory Tower Medical Center. I am your registered nurse (you can tell because I wear the mouse ears). We want your surgery to be pleasant and relaxing.....if you need help operating the TV please call me".
I would love to get some reports back from nurses! Let's hear all the wonderful ideas that come from your administrators after this conference which is scheduled for Sept. 9th.
Found this gem today on the Ohio Hospital Association web site
“Customer service is as important to hospitals as it is to Disney or otherBrought to you by the organization that fights safe staffing levels, statewide infection control surveillance and,of course, employee's right to form a union.
service providers,” said Joe Ruggles, OHA vice president, member development.
“Hospitals continually work to improve service and quality through collaborative
efforts, employment of consumer advocates and routine patient feedback. Programs
like the Disney Institute add one more resource that hospitals can use to
improve patient and family experiences.”
What's next? Mouse ears would be a nice touch on our scrubs and most nurses are already required to "read script" to their patients...."Welcome to Ivory Tower Medical Center. I am your registered nurse (you can tell because I wear the mouse ears). We want your surgery to be pleasant and relaxing.....if you need help operating the TV please call me".
I would love to get some reports back from nurses! Let's hear all the wonderful ideas that come from your administrators after this conference which is scheduled for Sept. 9th.
Friday, August 14, 2009
H1N1 Infection Control: NOT the Time to Cut Corners
On August 10th CNA/NNOC issued a Current Nursing Practice and Patient Advocacy Alert regarding Swine Flu -H1N1. This alert comes on the heels of the death of the first RN to die from the Swine Flu and the termination of an RN who spoke up in her workplace about unsafe infection control practices.
Bonnie Castillo, RN Director, Government Relations California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee provided testimony to the IOM on August 12th. She reports preliminary findings from an RN Survey examining infection control practices. The findings are disturbing. Many nurses are being asked to reuse respirators even after contact with an infected patient. Isolation practices are ineffective in many places.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Dead By Mistake
This comprehensive report highlights the impact of medical mistakes and their deadly consequences. More importantly, the report exposes the "sparse and secretive" reporting that dominates the hospital industry. It is amazing that every year 200,000 people die from medical errors (which are vastly underreported) and yet the public awareness of the gravity of this public health crisis is severely lacking.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Off Label: Like Giving Change To The Homeless
Anyone who has made a visit to downtown Cleveland recently may have seen the "Change Where it Counts" signs. This public education campaign is meant to discourage people from giving money to panhandlers and instead donate funds to organizations that will use them to truly benefit the homeless. While those that give money to a panhandler have good intentions, doing so actually has adverse consequences and undermines the systems in place that really make your change count.
These signs come to mind when I think of physicians who perform off label procedures and prescribe drugs for off label use outside of the setting of a clinical trial. It does seem well intended and in many cases does offer some immediate benefit. How much benefit? Is the benefit real or perceived? Is it safer than other alternatives? Is the risk I am exposing my patient to really worth it? The world may never know.
These are exactly the kinds of questions that clinical trials are intended to answer and exactly the type of information the FDA is seeking when they evaluate a new drug or device or a novel use for either. It is not the FDA's responsibility to seek out new drugs, devices or new uses for same; that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the drug or device manufacturer. When a new use is thought to be of benefit to patients the drug/device company sends an application for approval to the FDA. Before that novel use can be added to a package insert the benefit, safety and effectiveness are reviewed by the FDA and either accepted or denied.
Collecting information costs money, a lot of money. It also takes time and the commitment of the prescriber to recognize and report adverse outcomes. What incentive does a company have to do this when they know that physicians will use their product without demanding that the safety and effectiveness are validated? None. Further, what incentive is there to test the safety and effectiveness of these drugs on populations that do not generate profits (pregnant women, children, minorities) or generic drugs that offer very little profit potential?
More important than the FDA approval or the practice of off label use by physicians is the patient's right to make an informed choice. Without the information that provides key answers to the risk, benefit and alternatives of therapies the fact remains that the patients who decide to proceed with these therapies cannot make an informed choice. Patients are left with only the faith that they have in their provider, a faith that is in many cases misplaced. The fact remains that without data no one really knows what the widespread clinical implications are and no one is seeking the answer.
As health care providers adminstering drugs, performing surgeries and the reality of bad outcomes has become a fact of life. We hand out drugs and administer therapies, literally, by the thousands. We often do this without even a second thought. The same is not true for our patient. For many, the decision to have surgery or take a new drug is one that is a serious life decision. We owe it to the individuals that we care for to take the risk of an adverse outcome seriously and we should demand that we are fully aware of those risks. We should demand that the companies who profit from our decisions fully disclose the information they have. Finally, as providers we should be honest with our patients when we do not know the answers - these disclosures lie at the very heart of the meaning of informed consent. While the quest for innovation is laudable, the true human costs should not be ignored.
In short,while well intended, prescribing off label is much like giving change to the homeless undermining the systems in place to ensure that the therapies we use are in fact helpful and beneficial to all people who may be subject to them. The short term fix may look appealing but really does not promote change where it counts.
These signs come to mind when I think of physicians who perform off label procedures and prescribe drugs for off label use outside of the setting of a clinical trial. It does seem well intended and in many cases does offer some immediate benefit. How much benefit? Is the benefit real or perceived? Is it safer than other alternatives? Is the risk I am exposing my patient to really worth it? The world may never know.
These are exactly the kinds of questions that clinical trials are intended to answer and exactly the type of information the FDA is seeking when they evaluate a new drug or device or a novel use for either. It is not the FDA's responsibility to seek out new drugs, devices or new uses for same; that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the drug or device manufacturer. When a new use is thought to be of benefit to patients the drug/device company sends an application for approval to the FDA. Before that novel use can be added to a package insert the benefit, safety and effectiveness are reviewed by the FDA and either accepted or denied.
Collecting information costs money, a lot of money. It also takes time and the commitment of the prescriber to recognize and report adverse outcomes. What incentive does a company have to do this when they know that physicians will use their product without demanding that the safety and effectiveness are validated? None. Further, what incentive is there to test the safety and effectiveness of these drugs on populations that do not generate profits (pregnant women, children, minorities) or generic drugs that offer very little profit potential?
More important than the FDA approval or the practice of off label use by physicians is the patient's right to make an informed choice. Without the information that provides key answers to the risk, benefit and alternatives of therapies the fact remains that the patients who decide to proceed with these therapies cannot make an informed choice. Patients are left with only the faith that they have in their provider, a faith that is in many cases misplaced. The fact remains that without data no one really knows what the widespread clinical implications are and no one is seeking the answer.
As health care providers adminstering drugs, performing surgeries and the reality of bad outcomes has become a fact of life. We hand out drugs and administer therapies, literally, by the thousands. We often do this without even a second thought. The same is not true for our patient. For many, the decision to have surgery or take a new drug is one that is a serious life decision. We owe it to the individuals that we care for to take the risk of an adverse outcome seriously and we should demand that we are fully aware of those risks. We should demand that the companies who profit from our decisions fully disclose the information they have. Finally, as providers we should be honest with our patients when we do not know the answers - these disclosures lie at the very heart of the meaning of informed consent. While the quest for innovation is laudable, the true human costs should not be ignored.
In short,while well intended, prescribing off label is much like giving change to the homeless undermining the systems in place to ensure that the therapies we use are in fact helpful and beneficial to all people who may be subject to them. The short term fix may look appealing but really does not promote change where it counts.
Quandary Room: Triage for a Nurses Thoughts
Emergency Room, Operating Room, Waiting Room, Exam Room, Patient Room, Report Room, Break Room, Procedure Room, Triage Room...where to figure it all out?
The Quandary Room.
The Quandary Room.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
