Thursday, May 2, 2013

Lies, lies, lies: Omitted facts hurt doctors and patients ~ Cynthia G. Creel May 2, 2013




Lies, lies, lies:

Omitted facts hurt doctors and patients

~ Cynthia G. Creel

May 2, 2013

My Story: 


I sat in the office waiting for the doctor, I knew I had not done what I should have and didn’t want the doctor to chastise me. I thought of a way to tell the doctor what I did without me being my fault. On second thought, how could the doctor help me if the facts weren’t presented accurately. I told an accurate story having really analyzed what was going on, my fault or not I was sick and needed to be helped as quickly as possible. I didn‘t need  to be right. 

The doctor looked at me and said you don’t have tetanus, an  infectious disease that is usually caused through a deep wound and exposure to the bacterium Clostridium tetani causing sever muscular spasms starting in the jaw and working its why thought out the body, sometimes leading to death. I didn’t look like I could have tetanus so I think the doctor omitted the idea saying  it was a tooth problem and I should go to the dentist. I have had an abscessed tooth before and the pain was  worse than having a baby and not the same as this pain. 

I had cut my finger on a cat food can and worked on the farm with cow manure. The pain started in the jaw and moved past the midline of the face with each nerve on firer with my neck and stomach hurting and the symptoms becoming more intense it was time to get help.  Each sign of infection followed the list in order from the description of the disease.  However, I didn’t look that sick.  The doctor wasn’t willing to give me a test, too many faults negatives. He just kept saying it was my tooth. 

Until, I told him I cut my finger and I worked with cow manure. He looked at me and asked me what I wanted and I said an antibiotic. It worked and the infection disappeared in the next week or so. 

I left the office feeling empowered knowing I got the best ideas and care because both the doctor and I didn‘t omit the possibilities and looked for the correct answer and treatment. If I had made difference choices  the end results may have been different. It would have been easy to say nothing about the cut or just to have forgotten about it. Who likes admitting to something they did that was just dumb. What I did was just dumb. I used my bare finger tip on the edge of the cat food can to clean it. It took a bout 20 seconds for the can to deeply penetrate the finger. I covered it ok and put on  gloves that may or may not have protected me when I worked on the farm. The doctor could have ignored me and just said go to the dentist. Time would have been lost and this could have become life threading. I am happy that it all worked out. 


Doctor and patient omissions:

No one wins when  omissions happens leaving out facts and information by accident or on purpose. One study from Journal of Family Practices tells doctors how to help protect themselves stopping errors they create. It is estimated that 10% to 15% diagnostic errors affect patients. Out of 50 autopsies preformed one in four found that the patient’s major diagnoses had been missed.  The problem most often sited was the breakdown of information like not have a complete history on the patient. Doctors stop looking when they thing they know the answers with the study analyzing dermatologists diagnose melanoma found 30% of the time their decisions were later found to be incorrect. 

It could be the doctor’s fault yet what about the patient. Are they telling the truth to the doctor? An article in the Wall Street Journal (3) tells a familiar story of patients smelling like cigarette smoke yet they insisted they have stopped smoking. Fear may create these harmful lies that include diet, sexual history, taking medications or exercise. All leading to a faults picture leading to different answers that could be incorrect. 

Final words:


It is both patient and doctors that have to be accurate to find the correct course of action.  It is being proactive to help protect yourself and the doctor to do their job well. Not wanting to look at the facts if there is fear of an  uncertain future,  often times it is human nature that becomes the larges obstacle.

The solution  helps to keep moving the best direction is to step onto the path of True Health.  Discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step on to the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars which turkey supplier you want to support to create a world you will love to live in. I do, and I like the world I am helping to create. Together we can create a better life for all to remember over their entire life time. Together we can protect what we have so we don’t need to live in a world that is second rate. 

By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”


Photo creation by  Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
Blooming catus


all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given  was  only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of  any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the  policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published.  There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.


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Sources:




(1) http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=8917

(2)  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/business/22leonhardt.html

(3) http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33816_162-57581734/lying-to-doctors-could-be-harmful-for-patients/

(4) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323478004578306510461212692.html

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