dialysis treatment time

[Dry-Pack-Babe]

I've been on dialysis for twleve years and if patients ask to terminate their session, they have to sign an AMA (against medical advice) form. And what follows is a lecture about watching your fluid intake and the folly of truncating your treatment time. But on holidays--Thanksgiving, Christmas, the clinic will arbitrarily cut a patient's run time by an hour. They don't mind breaking the rules if it benefits them.  At another clinic, a tech cut my time so she could get out early. And if a patient complains about them, they all get together and gives the patient the cold shoulder.

[cassandra]

Disgraceful!! Have you looked into Home HD?


Love, Cas

[Michael Murphy]

Contact CMS and file a complaint why argue with idiots when there is a 600 pound gorilla willing to do it for you.  Going to CMS is invoking the nuclear option but allowing staff to short patients is not right and my guess is the medical record don’t show the correct treatment time this kind of crap is U.N. ethical and possibly illegal.

[GA_DAWG]

Start with the clinic director and go up the laddr until you get a satisfactory response.

[Paul]

Early in my dialysis I had a day when extreme cramp made me ask to come off early. I was given an "against medical advice" form to sign, and did so without complaint. A few weeks later, for reasons that were the clinic's fault, we started late and they wanted me to finish early. I said that this was OK with me, but I would need the nurse to write out a note saying this was her decision and that she took full legal responsibility for any harm it caused me. She (understandably) argued and I pointed out that this was exactly the same as when I signed an "against medical advice" form, so it was only reasonable for me to expect it. The result was that I got the full dialysis time.

[cassandra]

Early in my dialysis I had a day when extreme cramp made me ask to come off early. I was given an "against medical advice" form to sign, and did so without complaint. A few weeks later, for reasons that were the clinic's fault, we started late and they wanted me to finish early. I said that this was OK with me, but I would need the nurse to write out a note saying this was her decision and that she took full legal responsibility for any harm it caused me. She (understandably) argued and I pointed out that this was exactly the same as when I signed an "against medical advice" form, so it was only reasonable for me to expect it. The result was that I got the full dialysis time.

   


Fantastic Paul!!!