A Poor 'Product' That is Being Called 'Medical Care': By Maureen McCutcheon

A Poor 'Product' That is Being Called 'Medical Care': By Maureen McCutcheon

It has happened again…another misinformed and arrogant neurologist is denying a diagnosis to one of our new members based on old, outdated and/or misinterpreted information. He believes that potassium levels must be 2.1 or lower in order to qualify for a diagnosis of Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis. This is so ludicrous that it is laughable!!!!

In response, Maureen, one of our members wrote the following:

"We are not expecting doctors to KNOW everything. There is too much to know and more to know than they or anyone can even wonder about or what it is they do not know TO KNOW... BUT, it is not unrealistic to expect that they will not act like they know everything! And that they will be willing to admit they cannot KNOW everything (especially when there are over six or seven thousand known rare disorders) and over and over in text books I have read the words, "we don't understand,", or "we don't know," or "we can't explain why this is, but ... ")

I have read comments like this in textbooks about conditions as common and well-researched as diabetes and other well-known conditions that are not rare. I wish they would just to be willing to use the ability they must have to learn, that they have proven they have, by going through medical school and all the rigors and requirements to become a physician. I wish they would use that ability to think, learn and attain knowledge ( if the ability to think has not been beaten out of them by the current push to use 'pathway' thinking and cookie-cutter 'follow recipe' protocols that can have a place as a FOUNDATION to start and incorporate in the search for a diagnosis, but not to end there) then dr's need to stop following the recipe of 'standard protocol' (which includes the easy of the use of 'psychological' and labels like somatorform, conversion, etc.).

Standard of care and protocol has a place in medical care. It has some value. But people ARE NOT factory made machines. When the protocol is hindering rather than facilitating the real purpose of the physician (which is to seek accurate diagnosis so can provide care that is best fit for the patient), that ties their hands and makes them afraid to 'change the recipe', that facilitates and forces doctors to use a 'bad' recipe and actually encourage them to 'discard/ 'throw out' the patient rather than throw out the 'bad recipe'.

A chef will throw out a bad recipe. A quality chef will be able to tell the recipe will be bad even before starting it, so they will not even waste their time and ingredients. Doctors need to be able to be like the chef who knows to throw out the 'bad recipe' or decide that if they are required to use it, that they will improve upon it in a 'creative' way. But doctors seem to be hindered, even 'punished' for trying to 'change the recipe', even if it results in a poor 'product' that is being called 'medical care'..."

Thank you Maureen!!

Until later…