The Heart of Caring by Mark Vonnegut

Author:Mark Vonnegut
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: biography;medicine;medical;biographies;health;doctor;biographies and memoirs;autobiographies;medical books;nursing;biographies of famous people;autobiography books;nurse;wellness;memoirs;autobiography;memoir;nurse gifts;emt;nurse books;medicine books;memoir books;psychology;feminism;spiritual;running;true story;spirituality;inspiration;true stories;healing;collection;inspirational;essays;identity;fitness;mental health;twins;gender;family;philosophy;sports;short stories;marriage;parenting;social
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2022-01-20T15:00:03+00:00

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Two days later my phone rings. “Mark, my other foot is swollen. An infection can’t jump from the left foot to the right, can it?”

“Here’s the deal, Rick, you’re going to call your son and have him take you to Mass General.”

“By ambulance?”

“No, Rick, not by ambulance. You’ll get there more quickly and safely if your son drives.”

The hero of Rick’s story was a third-year medical student who, unburdened by the need to enter things into an electronic medical record, took a thorough history and did a careful physical exam.

The medical student correctly determined that Rick had never had an infection, that he was dehydrated because of colitis, probably clostridium difficile, from all the antibiotics he took. He was also in kidney failure because of the antibiotics, which was why both his feet and ankles were now swollen. His liver enzymes were up for some unknown reason but would probably return to normal once all the other problems were straightened out.

There will always be mistakes and bad outcomes, but they didn’t used to cost $50K. His kidneys, liver, and colitis got better, but the pain and swelling in his right foot and ankle didn’t. He was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome by his primary care physician. The visit to urgent care, along with the $50,000 in medical costs, was paid for by Medicare. Above and beyond the money part of things, a vigorous, fully employed man was forced to retire on full disability.

Bouncing back is a young man’s game.

There’s nothing in Rick’s billing, coding, or his electronic urgent-care or hospital records that indicates what an unnecessary and very expensive disaster his care was. The electronic part of his care and coding was perfect.

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