So my last night’s story for Clueless Doctors for you. I found a toll free number to the NIH poison center; the one you are supposed to call when you or your child gets poisoned by something and want to find out what to do.

So the guys picks up and I ask

• “how long before the brain fully empties the extra serotonin from serotonin poisoning?” He says
• “Serotonin what?” I say
• “well you know, when they prescribe too much serotonin and you get toxic levels of serotonin build up in the brain.” He said
• “Oh that! That is so rare you need not worry.” So I say
• ” I just read it on the NIH website that last year over 47,000 people had it and just under 100 died.” He says
• “Just ignore NIH”… I say
• “duh… YOU ARE NIH“…

What dumb people are answering the phone at NIH poison center to help you??? Honestly?

Note that the number I called is the official number one is supposed to call from everywhere in the US whatever poisoning occurs. Can we even trust the poison center? Is there any place we can go today where we will be treated competently?

There are some places. I have some awesome doctors now after years of searching but it took me about 10 years of moving from doctor to doctor and 2 times near death experience before I found the competent ones. Now you all know that I have medical knowledge at the research level–I am not an MD but a PhD so my field is research rather than practice. Thus I have the advantage over a large percentage of the population who do not know what the doctors do instead of what they should be doing! What can you do then?

Let me tell you another story from yesterday. My mother was completely misdiagnosed at a local very well known hospital and treated with the wrong medications, they forgot to give her the medications she has always taken, etc. So several cases of malpractice and negligence. I filed a claim (within the hospital, following their process) against two doctors who were in charge of my mom’s 10 days in the hospital.

So yesterday I received a letter confirming that the hospital received my complaints and since the doctors are independent contractors and not hospital employees, the hospital is not responsible for their action… I am serious. This is what the letter said. Here is what I wrote back to the hospital:

Interesting statement–does hospital X hire doctors to work on hospital X patients, in hospital X medical rooms, using hospital X equipment, in hospital X offices, using hospital X computers, ordering hospital X nurses, using hospital X medical dispenser system for medicines, and are not responsible for hospital X patients? This will be an interesting discussion indeed.

How did the system degrade to the level that is less responsible than constructions or grocery stores or any other public or private system? How can the healthcare system of a country be not responsible for its doctors’ incompetent, negligent, and sometimes criminal actions? Here is a criminal one for you: If on your medical chart says you are allergic to a medicine and the doctor goes ahead and gives it to you anyway, that is “intent to harm” and that is a criminal act.

So now you may say “why don’t you file criminal charges against that doctor?” And I have to tell you that I cannot. The California medical criminal system is so kluged up as a result of attorneys refusing to take on malpractice cases, that the District Attorney’s office can no longer see out of their offices from the stacks and stacks of claims. No claim can be put in that will actually prosecute in my lifetime. And then you may ask “well don’t attorneys take on the malpractice cases?”

Here is an example for you that made the news a day or two ago: a child died from the malpractice of a doctor. The mother wanted to sue but no attorney would take it so she paid for the suit and hired an attorney to file a malpractice. She lost! Her child was dead, obvious malpractice and she lost! Not only that but then after loosing her child and also all that money in court, the insurance companies ended up suing her for all the costs they had in defending themselves.

Today, in California, no attorney will take on a malpractice lawsuit no matter how hard you try. the explanation is simple and rather ugly: if the malpractice is against a child or an elderly, there is absolutely no chance for them to prove that the child or elderly would not have ended up dead without the bad treatment. In the case of a young adult through middle age person, there is a chance that life would have turned out differently and so then they cannot judge and this little bit of uncertainty is enough to motivate.

This system has to change. I have some ideas that will be written up on my next day of thoughts. If you have any suggestions or complaints yourself or know someone who does, please feel free to write it up under comments or visit my Facebook Fan page and comment there.