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Why do patients leave against medical advice?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: Why do patients leave against medical advice?

#81

Post by adastra22 »

kajecounterhack wrote: post #72
adastra22 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They made us sign a waiver as we left. Could you have refused?

Maybe? We were tired and just wanted to go so we didn't fight them on it.

I mean you could just… go. Like get up and walk out of the room. Unless you’re under a psychiatric hold or other such specialized circumstances, they have no legal authority to keep you there. It’d be holding you against your will, and a criminal action by the hospital. You have the right to just get up and walk out without signing a damn thing, though they may try to tell you otherwise.

Re: Why do patients leave against medical advice?

#82

Post by John23832 »

xscott wrote: post #73
John23832 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as bankruptcy is horrible, it’s does not compare to the immediate harm of a disseminated MRSA infection. Let’s not be hyperbolic.

I would rather die than lose all my retirement savings and be forced to find a job in my 60s or 70s. No hyperbole at all.

With an untreated MRSA infection, you wouldn't live to your 60' or 70's. No worries.

Re: Why do patients leave against medical advice?

#83

Post by John23832 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #53
John23832 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as bankruptcy is horrible, it’s does not compare to the immediate harm of a disseminated MRSA infection. Let’s not be hyperbolic.

I think you’re very fortunate to not have known anyone who has had to make that calculation.

There is no calculation to make. If you have an untreated MRSA infection, you will die. Now whether the treatment can be overly prosecuted is a different question.

You can set a broken bone yourself. You cannot treat MRSA. You do not walk out of a hospital with untreated MRSA AMA.

Re: Why do patients leave against medical advice?

#84

Post by nikonyrh »

rented_mule wrote: post #64
bstre wrote: post #3

I left on day 4 of 6 combatting a MRSA infection. I left on 12/31 because the hospital could not tell me if my current insurance (COBRA) would cover the bills for days 5/6. Absurd. Turns out I was right in my estimations that the course of IV would suffice and also that the remaining days would not be covered. I feel like I 'survived' the hospital system, not MRSA.

On a similar insurance related note... I needed an emergency appendectomy and was sent home in pain by non-medical staff. I had gone to an urgent care clinic with abdominal pain. They pressed on my abdomen to see where the pain was and told me to immediately go to the hospital down the street and there would be a CT scan order waiting. At the conclusion of the scan, I was told to go down the hall to the ER for emerge…

> A doctor came over to review the test results, saw that the CT scan was the previous day, and yelled at me for several minutes about how I risked my life by listening to the front desk staff.

Has he tried yelling at the front desk staff yet? I hope you know his name and contacted him afterwards.

> I asked if I should have forced my way back to find an empty bed and just jumped into it.

I assume that would get you arrested, and maybe even dragged to jail. :S

Re: Why do patients leave against medical advice?

#85

Post by kajecounterhack »

adastra22 wrote: post #81
kajecounterhack wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe? We were tired and just wanted to go so we didn't fight them on it.

I mean you could just… go. Like get up and walk out of the room. Unless you’re under a psychiatric hold or other such specialized circumstances, they have no legal authority to keep you there. It’d be holding you against your will, and a criminal action by the hospital. You have the right to just get up and walk out without signing a damn thing, though they may try to tell you otherwise.

In retrospect we probably should have just done that.
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