<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>NoExcuses</b></i>
I am a hands-on, well-educated and proactive patient. I don't rely on him to bring up issues or to advise me - we're a partnership rather than me just relying on him to tell me what to do..</end quote></div>
Although I agree patients would benefit from being their own advocate and hands-on, I don't think it should be soley the patients' responsibility to bring up or be advised on issues. After all, this IS their job, this is what they get paid to do...not me.
Some patients don't have the where-with-all or support to be hands-on, while others, memories fail them - even with their best intentions and effort - *I am in this group*.
I feel it's not my job to babysit them and make sure they are following through with everything that entails my case. (Just as it is not their job to babysit me and call to make sure I did a breathing treatment today.. that's my job.) Unfortunately it has been turned into "it's all me baby" because of the problems you stated and because they are plain overwhelmed with patient load.
Personally, I had an issues with not receiving lab results until nearly a year after the fact. I assume if there is something to report on basic labs, I would be informed. Labs are taken all the time, yet now I'm finding out that they are just reviewing labs from a year ago, and detected a problem??? I can only hope other critical issues weren't missed for the same reason.
BTW, the lab result showed a critical vitamin A level - my curiousity wonders that if it had been addressed at the point of knowing, could it have prevented the 2 tune-ups in between, since Vit A is crutial to fighting infection.
I couldn't ask for better nurses when hospitalized.
However, the physical therapy department hasn't been up to par for a few years; but, after speaking with a key person in PT recently, the hospital has listened and they are going to be starting programs again for in-house patients.
With my greivances spoken, I still wouldn't change at this point. I still believe they are qualified to do what they do - I just hope they get their bugs worked out quickly.
Each patient much weigh their OWN pros and cons.