Although I didn't end up catching Michael Moore's documentary "SiCKO" - a searing expose on the slip-shod way Hospitals are run - what I witnessed today at the UCLA "ER" room signalled to me something is definitely amiss in the Health care industry.
I accompanied a friend who was complaining of a specific ailment to the Ronald Reagan Medical Building so appropriate tests could be taken to determine the seriousness of his worsening medical condition.
Without much of a wait (kudos for that small mercy, at least) he was ushered into a small "fast-track" cubby-hole-sized room quickly enough, but what transpired after the initial admission to the "ER" shocks the sensibilities a tad!
After informing the attending physician Eric Snyder (who relayed the info on to PHCP Ashwin Ramakrishnan MD) of his desire to have a blood test performed to verify if he had contracted a disease which might account for why he was feeling down-on-the-weather, the doc - obviously wet behind the ears - proceeded to have a nurse draw numerous tubes of blood (in what was referred to as a "rainbow" range) for testing at the facility.
Get this!
While my friend was waiting for the results from the lab, an unidentified woman in plain clothes stepped into his room unannounced, and asked if she could use an empty armchair that was part of the furnishings in his room.
Can you imagine?
The lady, who was not an employee of the Hospital - who, it turns out, was there to hold the hand of friend - was able to waltz in his room on a whim!
Obviously, the hospital staff were not monitoring the wing, or she would not have been able to barge in on my sick friend and intrude on his privacy without notice or permission.
But, the problems did not end there.
After about four hours - during which time my friend basically twiddled his thumbs - a male nurse strode in with a few tablets the doctor alleged would resolve the problem - based on the ailments complained of.
Notwithstanding, he was flabbergasted to learn that the test he specifically requested (which was the sole purpose for the trip to the out-patient facility) wasn't even conducted.
And, I have my suspicions as to why the doctor deceitfully avoided the test.
Had the test results come back positive, it would have been detrimental to the hospitals' best interests.
In my mind's eye, the suspect conduct of the doctor was underscored when a copy of the tests results he requested (and was told would be forthcoming) were not included later at the time of discharge.
In fact, my friend had to ask a second time for the results to be printed up and handed off to him for his records.
Either the doctor was just an incompetent boob and forgot to follow through on the request - or, in the alternative - deliberately sought to withhold the incriminating evidence.
At this juncture, my friend was quite irate.
If he knew the doctor was not going to submit a blood sample for the test in question, he would have gone elsewhere, instead of wasting his time at UCLA emergency for over 5 hours and pumping undeserved $$$ into their coffers!
But, the capper - to me, anyway - was when the nurse waltzed into the room and began discussing intimate confidential details about my friend's medical condition in a loud voice that carried well.
When my friend stepped out of the room at the time of discharge and discovered that the Hospital staff had seated patients (and their friends) in a small hall just outside of his open door, he was livid.
"Obviously, the strangers in the hall were within earshot of our conversation, and undoubtedly, heard all the confidential aspects of my medical condition," he wailed to me later.
You betcha!
In the future, I trust my friend will seek out a facility elsewhere where the medical practitioners are more sensitive to patients and the inalienable right to privacy.
I say, avoid UCLA emergency like a plague.
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