Sunday, December 25, 2005
Physician Power
A posting on the subject of the exercise of physician power prompted the following comment from Neil Whipky, Hospital CEO in Florida:
………………………
Here is a story from my first job as a hospital administrator, back in the early 90s. We had an elderly female patient who was obviously getting ready to "cross over the final river". She had but a few hours left, at most. She was in our ICU and unconscious with no family support. Her physician came into the unit and wrote a page full of orders for various tests and medications. Then at the end he wrote in "DNR".
……………………
I assume everyone knows that DNR means “do not resuscitate;” medicalese for “if she dies, don’t try to save her.”
A posting on the subject of the exercise of physician power prompted the following comment from Neil Whipky, Hospital CEO in Florida:
………………………
Here is a story from my first job as a hospital administrator, back in the early 90s. We had an elderly female patient who was obviously getting ready to "cross over the final river". She had but a few hours left, at most. She was in our ICU and unconscious with no family support. Her physician came into the unit and wrote a page full of orders for various tests and medications. Then at the end he wrote in "DNR".
……………………
I assume everyone knows that DNR means “do not resuscitate;” medicalese for “if she dies, don’t try to save her.”
