Patient's Rights

All too often, people feel uneasy about creating any ripples in the water and take what someone says to heart, even if there is something wrong with it. I am talking about patients and medical care here - the most overlooked topic of any disease. Often people work to find a cure for the disease or to bring awareness to it but too many people do not take a more active role in their own or family member's medical care.

If a nurse comes into your hospital room and hangs a new IV, are you going to ask what she is doing? Most people don't and that is where medical mistakes occur. In this case, it make have saved my husband's life - they were hanging an IV bag, filled with a medication that can shut down the kidneys if given too frequently. It was the right IV but it was being given 8 hours too early! He had just had his last dose of it!

What if a doctor or nurse comes into your room with a new pill for you to take? Do you just take it and be a good little patient or do you ask about it? Again, this happened to us and could have caused acute renal failure (kidney damage again!). They gave him the new pill and I asked for a information sheet on the new medication. As I sat reading it, his food arrived and no sooner did I finish reading the information sheet did I look up and see cranberry dressing on his turkey. Whoa! No! The sheet said specifically not to eat cranberries while on the medication as the combination can lead to kidney failure. The nurses, doctors, and dieticians all did not pick up on this.

Being part of your medical care is crucial! Don't feel bad to ask questions or even refuse treatment. Remember that you are a consumer and they are providing a service - a service which you are paying for! You deserve the best care possible and mistakes happen all too often in the medical field. Ask questions, question changes in medical treatment/medication, get involved and do your own research on anything you may have a question on. If it doesn't seem right, question it! If you are not happy with the medical treatment you are getting, ask for a patient advocate or to have a meeting with the doctors or nurses.

We have questioned many changes in Greg's medical treatment and have often brought light to a problem. In the past few years, hospitals have: 1) given him the wrong medication, 2) given him a combination of medications/food that may kill him, 3) given him medication too early, 4) scheduled major surgeries/procedures for things that could be simply fixed (he was dehydrated - they wanted to change his medications, he had an infection in his arm - they wanted to do nasal surgery, his blood sugar was too high because of an antibiotic conflicting with a transplant medication - they wanted to admit him). The list goes on and on but the point is clear, become your own advocate. Stand up for your rights! Do not let anyone treat you as anything less than a human being! Believe in yourself! Take a stand to ensure that you do not become one of this hospital mistakes!