The rest of the story

Remember Paul Harvey?  He had this radio show...The Rest of the Story.  He'd start out telling a story and you'd think you got it but there was always a twist at the end.  Kind of a feel good story told Law and Order style.

Let's play.

Man notices rash and swelling developing around his ankle.  Calls his doctor.  It's Friday morning and Doctor is booked all day.  Without even talking to the patient, he calls in an antibiotic for cellulitis (skin infection).

What do you think?  Is your spidey sense tingling?

What if I told you the rest of the story....patient is a diabetic....on Coumadin (a blood thinner).

If you are a medical person or just a well-informed lay person, you are probably downright squirming.  Because it COULD be something more.  We don't know...and more importantly, doctor doesn't know.  He's busy, it's Friday and the most likely diagnosis is cellulitis.  Why look for zebras when you hear hoofbeats, right?

This is why healthcare should piss you off and you should be demanding a better standard of care.  Because this patient took his antibiotic like a good boy.  And didn't think twice that the swelling didn't go down.  Or that it started to hurt.  In fact, he took his whole ten day course before he realized that it wasn't helping.  He didn't want to bother the doctor.  So he waited.  And nearly lost his leg.  He earned himself a week in the hospital because he trusted his doctor.