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Here is part 2 of the details from the points I raised in commenting on the discussion of the drug shortages and the way these affect EMS. Do Drug Shortages Really Impact EMS? – EMS Office Hours and followed by Do Drug Shortages Really Impact EMS? – Answer 1. This is broken up by answer. There are many points covered for a podcast that lasts less than 40 minutes. Do Drug Shortages Really Impact EMS?
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2. How do we convince doctors that doctors should act as if they learned something in medical school?
Ridicule.
When doctors behave ridiculously, we should respond with generous quantities of ridicule to match the overly generous egos that act as if it is better to harm patients, than to write protocols that allow medics to provide better care to patients.
Ridicule is the best option for those medical directors who do not do what is best for patients.
It is ridiculous for doctors to harm patients with protocols that have no medical basis, but are based on the excuse I’m a doctor.
Yes, these medical directors are doctors, but they are dangerous doctors.
We need to ridicule dangerous doctors.
They may not care about their patients, but they tend to dislike looking like fools.
Real doctors try to avoid harming patients.
Real doctors do not come up with idiotic excuses for dangerous behavior.
Real doctors do not ignore evidence and hide behind, If you want to practice medicine, then you should go to medical school.
Real doctors know what is good medicine because they pay attention to the research.
Real doctors protect patients.
If your medical director does not have the ability to change the protocols directly, the medical director certainly has the ability to influence the way the protocols are written.
We need to demand that medical directors act responsibly.
When medical directors do not behave responsibly we need to make it clear that what these medical directors are doing is bad medicine.
Bad medicine is indefensible.
If you doubt me, just try to finish this sentence –
It is OK to unnecessarily endanger patients because ______________.
The answer is not, I’m a doctor.
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As paramedics, we do not have the ability to change our protocols on our own, but we do have the ability to let everyone know when our medical directors refuse to change protocols that endanger patients.
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People criticize me for not having enough respect for doctors. If doctors want respect, they need to demonstrate that they can write protocols that are not dangerous. These doctors have no respect for patients.
Why be shy?
When on line medical command responds with something idiotic, maybe we should say, I’ll try a different hospital.
Is doctor shopping a bad thing?
No, but doctors discourage it the same way that people discourage doing something about the neighbor who beats his wife. We are told to wait until he kills someone. Even bad patient outcomes do not seem to lead to improvements in medical oversight. Who wants to admit that he was aware of the problem, but remained silent?
These medical directors are ridiculous.
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Continued in –
Do Drug Shortages Really Impact EMS? – Answer 3
Do Drug Shortages Really Impact EMS? – Answer 4
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Drug shortages are becomming pandemic in every therapeutic category, The root causes are questionable and suspicious. A good source to follow on the status, alledged reason for shortage, alternative tx modalities, and possible release date is ashp.org The epi where you had to do a dilution was a scary situation and a perilous medication error waiting to happen, thank god Vaso spares us of the first dose!!!