Surgeon Scorecard

I found this on ProPublica.  I suggest you look at the surgeon you are planning on using for your surgery.  Too bad they don't have this for other specialties...like anesthesia.  Anesthesia can screw you up just as fast as the surgeon can, yet we can't research and/or select the anesthesia provider.

Surgeon Scorecard | ProPublica

Controversy Over Midazolam/Versed Back in Court

There is a huge controversy over using Versed/Midazolam to execute prisoners.  Apparently the powers that be don't want to disseminate this information, but *I* do.  The convicted killers have seen/heard of the botched executions using Versed and they don't want the drug used on them.  I have found maybe the one thing that criminals and I agree on.

Here are a couple of news articles on this subject:

Judge upholds Tenn. lethal injection method, Miss. executions blocked | WREG.com

Death Penalty Case Inflames Supreme Court Passions - NBC News

As I have previously stated, I have zero sympathy for these people, convicted of heinous crimes, but I do agree that Versed should not be used...on anybody.  If it's "cruel and unusual punishment" for a criminal to be conscious (as in conscious sedation) then it is even more cruel to use Versed on INNOCENT PATIENTS!  I cannot understand why this drug could be considered cruel and unusual for people who are going to die, but absolutely fine for trusting patients who are going to live. (hopefully)  The same arguments used by the convicts can be used by the rest of us.  This poison leaves us awake and aware, just unable to remember it later. (in many cases, but not all)  So, Versed forces the death penalty recipients to be awake and aware, able to respond to commands etc. but unable to resist the people they KNOW are going to execute them.  Can it get any worse?   Maybe this is exactly what they did to their victims.  Does that make it right to subject any human being to the horror of Versed?  

Should patients also be rendered helpless, awake and aware while the medical minions torture them and laugh at their pain and helplessness?  A civilized society should never stoop to using such a diabolical drug.  It is a clue as to how degenerate society is today that a drug like this is used, even for the death penalty.  My opinion.

Have you calmed down yet?

I hope that I have given enough time to let medical people calm down after their last little tizzy.  I had to shut them down for a while by changing my blog to accept only identifiable people.  They were always welcome to email me instead.  Know what's weird?  All those hostile (alleged) anesthesia nurses who were posting to this blog INSTANTLY retreated once they found out that I wasn't allowing "anonymous" postings.  Isn't that odd?  Well, not really.  If you remember that they use Versed amnesia to cloak their anti-social leanings, is it any wonder that they also want to hide behind "anonymous"?

The COST of Anesthesia Nurses (from a reader)

I got another email from the reader I recently wrote about, AJ.  Here it is.

"Hi Jackie

Just a follow-up to our recent exchange of e-mails.  Even though I had a colonoscopy without any sedation or pain relief last month, my insurance company paid the anesthesiologist in excess of $800.  Apparently, he/she gets paid for his/her time regardless of what is required during the procedure.  I understand that the anesthesiologist may be required at some point during the procedure and that they should be paid something for their time, but I feel this amount is ridiculous. I wish someone would pay me $800 to take a 30 minute break.

Maybe sometime, someone from the medical field can explain to me how doing a colonoscopy without sedation keeps the costs down."

I find it alarming and aggravating that this reader was charged the same $800 that *I* was.  For NOTHING!  Here we are in this day and age, worrying about the enormous cost of medical care and we find that "anesthesia" is charging $800 an hour (or less time) for the mere presence of a crna in the suite.  A crna whose purpose is to administer...what exactly?  Versed?  

I have read the self righteous whining of many crna's about other inferior people, like regular nurses, administering the poison that is Versed.  Really, if Versed is that dangerous, may I opine that maybe it shouldn't be used at all for routine procedures?  Why, even when the services of the "sedation nurse" are declined, do we have to pay them anyway?  This is an outrageous example of the way medical care pads the bill so as to maximize profit.  It isn't about the patient, it's about the medical behemoth making obscene amounts of money.

I have advised this patient to dispute the bill.  The little nursey poo who made $800 dollars to stand there for half an hour doing nothing should not be paid for "services rendered".  I have successfully gotten spurious charges like this removed from my bill...  If the patient declines the services of the specialty nurse, whose job in this case was to administer "sedation" (which anybody can do) then there should be no CHARGES for this nurse.  

I agree with AJ, an 800 dollar charge for a crna to show up is ludicrous.  Next time AJ, show the nurse the door.  Accidents only happen during a colonoscopy if the patient IS sedated.  I have read copious amounts of data and haven't found a single instance of a perforation occurring in an unsedated patient.  I'm not saying that it can't/won't happen, just that the data doesn't support the idea that an unsedated colonoscopy requires the presence of a specialized anesthesia nurse.  You know me, I don't want one in the same room with me regardless of the procedure.  I had a heart cath done without an anesthesia nurse...

Medical Cartel and Rape

Here is the latest post I've found extolling the virtues of Versed.  This is the most ill thought out, outrageous idea yet.  All of us are going to be put at risk because medical minions and big pharma love their Versed.  SHAME ON YOU MEDICAL PEOPLE!

Midazolam Nasal Spray May Reduce Seizures | Medpage Today

Notice even the declaration includes the word MAY.  This monumentally stupid idea hasn't even been proven effective and yet they want to put this dangerous drug out on the street in aerosol form.  Absolutely unconscionable.  So now rapists and robbers can simply spray their victim to get instant compliance coupled with amnesia.  For something that MAY help with seizures?  OMG.  This drug needs to be banned entirely not have new ways dreamed up that MAY or may not help with some off label use.

Record Those Surgeries!

I am absolutely in favor of recording surgery WITH audio.  I want everybody to see how they were treated by their health care workers.  The medical minions want to hide behind the amnesia drug Versed/Midazolam and *I* for one want a stop put to the abuse of patients with Versed.   I would want a recording of my treatment especially if I were still awake and aware with Versed.  I would want to see myself screaming in pain and the laughing, mocking nurses.  I would want to hear the unconscionable remarks made about me by these same "professionals".  *I* heard them and they started the MINUTE they thought I had amnesia.  I think it is vital to be aware of what happens in these torture chambers when your brain is disconnected, either with "conscious sedation" or when general anesthesia is used.  Transparency is the only way to stop the abuse of patients.  After all these same people want to video your procedure for their own purposes, why shouldn't we have a copy?


This article is from a medmal attorney in New York. Recorded Surgeries Could be Future of Medical Malpractice | The Law Office Of Gerald Oginski, LLC

"Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a surgical “black box” that would track a surgeon’s actions during surgery and record any errors.

The purpose of the device is to collect data during surgery which could later be used to shed light on why a patient had a poor surgical outcome. The device would also allow researchers to analyze why surgical errors occur in an effort to prevent future mistakes.

Wisconsin Rep. Christine Sinicki has also introduced legislation that would allow patients to have their surgeries audiovisually recorded. If this bill is passed, it would require healthcare facilities to give surgical patients the option of having their surgery videotaped.

The proposed law would be named for Julie Ayer Ribenzer, a 38 year old woman who died after receiving too much of the anesthetic propofol during a breast implant surgery.

New York has a similar bill, “Raina’s Law,” which was named for 19 year old Raina Ferraro who went into cardiac and respiratory arrest due to negligent anesthesia administration during surgery, which sought to require cameras in all operating rooms.

Surgical errors are common and can lead to serious injuries and even death.

The surgical black box and the proposed Wisconsin and New York law reflect the growing public concern that surgical errors are not being disclosed and that there is no accountability for doctors or hospitals when errors occur.

Audiovisual recording in operating rooms would provide additional data to help medical providers, patients and their families understand why something went wrong. Unfortunately, doctors and hospitals don’t seem to agree.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association and Wisconsin Medical Society have asserted that they are opposed to Rep. Sinicki’s bill. Some doctors have also reasoned that bringing black boxes into operating rooms could later be used against them in a legal matter.

The topic of recording surgery is becoming more and more common. It is very possible that audiovisual recordings are the future of medical malpractice investigation and medical error prevention."

Endo Nurse Link

Here is what I got from a reader.  Thanks AJ.
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"I've been following your blog for many years.  I had a problem with Versed about 20 years ago before there was any information about the drug on the internet.  I don't recall seeing the link below on unsedated colonoscopy on your blog.  Of particular note is the comment.

  http://www.endonurse.com/news/2009/10/researchers-most-patients-tolerate-unsedated-colo.aspx

By the way, yesterday I had my second unsedated colonoscopy.  While I know that not everyone is the same, I felt no pain the entire procedure.

Keep up the good work with your blog."

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email reprinted with permission from the reader in its entirety without any changes.

5 years ago this study was published.  Has anybody heard about the findings?  Well, surprise, surprise!  Here is an eye-opener of a quote.  "The advantages of unsedated colonoscopy include the elimination of the risks associated with sedation, especially in patients with comorbidities; a reduction in the recovery time after the procedure; a decrease in the need for cardiopulmonary monitoring; and a significant reduction in cost."  "The elimination of the risks associated with sedation. "  According to our own esteemed anesthesia providers there are no "risks associated with sedation".  The KEY in this statement is found in the rest of the sentence..."reduction in recovery time" and "significant reduction of cost."  Our medical system is focused on making everything as expensive as humanly possible.  Recovery time is charged in increments of 15 minute intervals where I went.  So every 15 minutes the medical facility can keep you in the recovery room, it's that much more money they can extract from the patient and/or the patient's insurance company.  The expensive nurses for whom the patients are being charged EXTRA because he/she has to monitor the patient more closely adds to the cost as well.  This is a MAJOR disincentive for the medical minions to forego sedation.  "A significant reduction in cost" is the very last thing our medical cartel is interested in.

  How about this quote from the article? ". “We compared patients who underwent either unsedated colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy for primary colorectal cancer screening and found no significant differences in pain scores, patient acceptance, or need for sedation.”  By this statement we glean that there is no difference in patient satisfaction whether sedation is used or not.  I'll bet if this article went farther, they would find that many people did not like the after effects of sedation days or weeks post procedure.  Sedation is used in our country to maximize hospital profit among other purposes.  Is it the primary one?  Who knows because our medical minions will not admit to any of this.

Please do read the article and also the comment my reader speaks of.  If you haven't read anything else on this blog, it will surprise you.