Do You Feel Me Now?
New York Mayor Mike Torquemada doubled down on his War on Legal Drugs:
“The city hospitals we control, so…we’re going to do it and we’re urging all of the other hospitals to do it, voluntary guidelines. Somebody said, oh, somebody wrote, ‘Oh then maybe there won’t be enough painkillers for the poor who use the emergency rooms as their primary care doctor,’” the mayor said on his weekly radio show with John Gambling. “Number one, there’s no evidence of that. Number two, supposing it is really true so you didn’t get enough painkillers and you did have to suffer a little bit. The other side of the coin is people are dying and there’s nothing perfect….There’s nothing that you can possibly do where somebody isn’t going to suffer and it’s always the same group [claiming], ‘Everybody is heartless.’ Come on, this is a very big problem.”
They key word is in the first sentence. “Control.” And if you have to suffer a little bit, or maybe even a lot, so that Mayor Torquemada can look like he’s doing something about something, well…
…that’s your problem, not his.
there are several problems here. my first thought was when did bloomberg get a license to practice and what is his DEA number? then i read the article. the point is being missed that the “poor” shouldn’t be using the ER for primary care. there was a study back in the 70s (when i was in residency) out of Cook County Hospital. a charge of $.50 (yes, fifty cents), refundable if the patient was sick enough to be admitted, reduced ER visits significantly (i think 50%, but it has been a long time and i wouldn’t swear that the number is correct). bloomberg also references “20 days” of meds dispensed from the ER. i have never seen more than 3 days dispensed. the drugs given have always been for a short time to be followed by prescription. as in, “here are three pills to get you through until morning, then get this prescription filled.” i’ve been retire for some time, but large quantities of drugs should not be being given out by the ER. bloomberg is jerk, but he does have a point, albeit poorly stated, here.
I’m a physician as well, and I’m not defending the Bloombergs of the world.
But … drug seekers are a huge, huge problem. They are a drag on the healthcare system. I’ve never known someone who needed pain relief to be denied. I’ve never felt pressure from “authorities” to withhold narcotics. I have met a multitude of drug seekers. The problem is huge.
If anything, there is pressure to liberally dispense narcotics. Failure could result in a legal complaint.
Agreed with JGH, drug seekers are a huge problem and while most of bloombergs initiatives of late indefensible, this one is reasonable.
I still have to note with irony that the feds never cared about cracking down on drug seeking behavior and its cost to the health care system until after they took it over.
I also still have to say what Stephen once said about Bill Bennett goes double for bloomy, he needs to be escorted out of the gop, with a pitchfork
I perfectly fine with a few people dying. It’s already too much of a pain in the ass to get pain meds. I’m at whits end.
I’m fine with a few idiots rotting in the streets, I’m tired of walking around like a wounded animal ready to snap.