Catch Up Post — Part 6

We’ll call this one the “George Halvorson, first reform your own organization” Edition.

• An Elite Notary explains why it is so difficult to obtain legal representation in California in medical malpractice cases. Hint: it’s all about MICRA and mandatory binding arbitration, and claims against Kaiser have decreased 20% as a result. Just the legal filings, mind you, not the number of malpractice incidents.
• Matt Welch prefers the French health care system to ours in the US, in part because his wife’s breast cancer was missed by an indifferent KP doctor. What kind of doctor dismisses any kind of breast lump as harmless without testing? Now you know.
• A concise compilation of Kaiser scandals that clearly illustrates its unsuitability as a model for US health care reform. Not that we at Kaiser Thrive Exposed are against health care reform in general — our problem is with Kaiser-style health care deform.
• Hillarie Levy continues her struggle to make doctors accountable for the kind of misdiagnosis that caused the death of her daughter. Robyn Libitsky’s cancer was found to be untreatable after having been missed by KP doctors for 14 visits over a 5-month period. Kaiser subsequently tried to cover up for several of the doctors involved.
• KP apparently limits the number of test strips for diabetics that it will pay for, regardless of patient need. I’m not a diabetic, but I can attest to having my monthly allocation of asthma medicine limited by KP, which landed me in the ER via ambulance once. What’s more expensive? A few more test strips or a diabetic coma? An extra inhaler or an ER visit? Maybe they hope you’ll just die so you can’t complain, and if you do your family won’t be able to find an attorney.
• Most folks are probably not aware that Heather O’Rourke – child star of the Poltergeist movies — died at age 12 due to misdiagnosis of a bowel obstruction by none other than Kaiser Permanente.
• Kaiser Santa Rosa earned certification as a Primary Stroke Center in January of 2010. Problem is that only a few months earlier they were found to have the highest stroke mortality rate in Sonoma County in an independent report by the Niagara Health Quality Coalition. Could they really change it up that fast, or do they just have the hardest working PR goons and biggest bank account in existence? We would never suggest any impropriety, but The Joint Commission, which bestowed the award for this seemingly miraculous turnaround, just happens to be supported by payments from the HMOs it rates. Yeah, makes you go hmm.
• KP routinely misdiagnoses Lyme Disease, and here is one case. Imagine being told you have ALS, which is terminal, when a long-term course of antibiotics could help you. And of course once KP finally reaches the correct diagnosis, they also want to deny the treatment.
• Please don’t claim we only have negative things to say about KP, because we’re actually happy about this. Never mind that it shouldn’t have been necessary.
• KP doesn’t want to “needlessly” alarm patients by fully disclosing test results. Who are those electronic medical records supposed to benefit again?

Well there’s another month of Kaiser scandals. As always, much more to come.