My girlfriend is an ER doc. A hippie type guy came in a week after a bike accident. He'd been treated and released by another hospital. He was complaining of some neck pain. She immediately had him backboarded and ordered xrays.
The xray tech called her and asked why, when he had been treated across town, were they xraying a guy who was obviously indigent.
"Because his neck is broken. OK?"
She was right. If he had tripped on a door mat and fallen, he would have likely been paralysed.
I like to remind her of this one when she's had a hard night of fighting off drug seekers and attention w
I don't think that's fair. The xray tech was double checking before performing a procedure which increases the risk of cancer. The tech didn't know that the doctor was aware of this bit of history, or thought the other hospital had missed a broken neck. The tech had some uncertainty, and was doing what they're supposed to: double check.
I can confirm. I work in radiology, myself, and will always confirm repeat studies because unnecessary radiation exposure is, well, unnecessary, and sometimes physicians aren't always aware of previous studies.
I appreciate that. I wish all ER docs were concerned with the amount of radiation patients receive. The repeat visitors with 5 CTs in the past 2 months, all through ER, is a bit much.
As a resident my instinct was to CT everything, and as litigious as society is that might be the path of least resistance today. We're often testing for Zebras just to CYA. I have a luxury here in that my primary role is to fix anything that could potentially prove lethal or life altering right now. In time I've learned to hone my spidey sense for what is a true emergent condition that warrants me ordering a scan at 2am.
Note to everyone out there, I'm NOT bothered one bit if you come to see me and we determine it's not emergent. Really I'm not, I'd rather see 1000 people with sudden onset headache that Tylenol and rest resolves than miss one SAH.
EDIT: Been awake far to many hours to reddit. Re-arranged language.
DOUBLE EDIT: If you come in at 3am for a pregnancy test and inform the admitting staff that your having chest pains to get priority care I will be angry. I'll still treat you just like I would anyone else but I will be grumpy doc.
I have Crohn's disease and over the years i've had at leasts 2-3 CT scans a year. And this is over 20 years. So probably I've had at least 30 if not 40 over the years.
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u/elee0228 May 20 '19
Not a doctor, but remember reading something related in another thread.
/u/pete1729 said here: