Day in and day out, I come across the same story lines.
Mary Simpson, age 72 years, calls me and states, “I went to the emergency department (ED) for knee pain, and they did an X-ray and gave me ibuprofen.”
She added, “They did not give me any instructions for the Xeralto that I take to thin my blood. So, I took both the ibuprofen and Xeralto, and now I am dizzy, having black stools and again in the ED.”
Joe Penne, age 64 years, calls me and says, “I was discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia and sent home on antibiotics. Prior to my hospital admission, I was already on antibiotics given by my urologist for a urinary infection.”
He went on to say, “On my discharge, I followed up with my doctor and his nurse saw me in the clinic, and she told me to continue the same medications. Now I am in the ED again with explosive diarrhea 10 to 15 times a day for the past five days, and I am sick, with a blood pressure of only 80 and a life-threatening low potassium level.”
Susan Brewer, age 30 years, states, “I have been prescribed birth control pills by my primary care for several years, and I have also been suffering from migraines since the ninth grade, which is being treated by my neurologist.
Today, I visit with you, Dr. Ahmad, for the first time to discuss and be evaluated for my recent stroke. Dr. Ahmad, it seems you are concerned about the risk of another stroke in me due to my history of birth control pills and migraines, and do not want me to use birth control pills as a form of contraception. My doctors never told me that migraines and birth control pills are not a safe combination.”
So, what is the pattern we are seeing here? We are seeing patients obtaining medical care from multiple healthcare providers at multiple sites with no crosstalk or effort to communicate with the various providers. Of course, this lack of communication or collaboration between these providers not only delays diagnosis, treatment and increases costs, but most importantly may be both dangerous and deadly at times.
There still is no solution for this fragmented healthcare delivery. However, a visit where the doctor simply sits down and listens to the patient may go a long way in avoiding serious mistakes, and repeat hospitalizations.
For more information, call Las Sendas Cardiology at (480) 361-9949.