Another day - unfortunately didn't get very far on the House Health Care Bill reading today - only page 50. I'll write more about that after I get a little further.

But let's talk about some of the continued media buzzz - or what I prefer to call it, propaganda, that is circulating on the tube and radio. Shall we call them "The Death Panels" or what they really are - the End of Life Decisions Policy????

Well since there may be some non-health care people reading this blog - let's clarify this a little bit. First off, Pres. Obama didn't mention this in his visionary plan at all. The House bill dedicates 4 - 5 pages of policy with specifics about how doctors/providers will go about discussing end-of-life decisions or life-sustaining procedures with their patients. As we health care providers know, this has already been going on for many years. I consider myself a fairly new nurse, 16 years. Nursing is my second career so I work with many people who have done it much longer than myself. But, for as long as I can remember, all hospitals have been discussing these options with patients. It's a government requirement already - has been for a long, long time. Every time someone gets admitted to a hospital, the patient gets a pamphlet and a doctor asks the patient what their desires are in case something catastrophic were to happen to them.
Do they want CPR, Cardiac Medications, Defibrillation, Intubation, Tube Feedings, Antibiotics or IV Fluids??

By the way, these are only used in cases where a patient is terminally ill. This doesn't mean if you come into the hospital for a sore throat or a hip replacement - and something happens - like a heart attack or stroke - we won't do anything for you. This means that if you are dying of cancer and your heart stops while you're very ill in the hospital, we will respect your wishes if you don't want any more heroic measures done. Or maybe if you've had a massive stroke and you were originally placed on a ventilator and days later, it's determined that you have no brain waves, we could again respect your wishes to have the ventilator removed.

And if the person and or/family change their minds at any time, we then do everything and give them the time they need to work it out.

The only things this bill would add to what we're already doing is:

#1 - There will be a specific policy which dictates the format of education, pamphlets, resources and assistance that will be available to patients.

#2 - The doctor/provider will actually get paid for his consult with the patient - which I believe will allow the doctor/provider to spend more time with the patient discussing these issues.

#3 - The government will keep track of how many patients they consulted with, how many people make living will and when ill, how many living wills are actually abided by.

So in a nutshell, someone will get paid for their time doing what they're already actually doing for free. Simple. Why all the fuss anyway???

So long for now. Sleep tight !