SACRAMENTO, CA – A ferocious yearlong battle over Proposition 46 will be decided in California at the polls this upcoming November. Proposition 46 includes proposals to drug test physicians, to raise caps on medical malpractice payments from $250,000 to $1,000,000, and to mandate checking narcotic prescriptions in an outdated and extremely inefficient state-operated computer system.
Trial lawyers were able to get momentum for this proposition by touting it as a patient safety bill while stealthily lumping in their true mission, making more money off of medical malpractice cases.
GomerBlog is now reporting that preliminary results of an investigation claiming that the lawyers who initiated Proposition 46 were in fact inebriated on alcohol with traces of ecstasy and cocaine in their systems during key meetings with legislatures.
“We have confirmed reports that 17 of the original lawyers who proposed Proposition 46 were wasted ‘beyond belief’ when they filed their motion at the courthouse,” said an anonymous courthouse security guard. “I overheard slurred speech and phrases like ‘taking candy from a baby’ and how ‘the public is so stupid that Prop 46 was a slam dunk.'”
The medical community is countering Proposition 46 with its own selfish motives, Proposition 47. Prop 47 includes drug testing all medical malpractice trial lawyers, capping lawyer hourly billing at $100/hr down from upwards of $800/hr billing for some lawyers, and forces malpractice lawyers to use old-school microfiche records in order to search for previous cases, all in the name of patient safety. Malpractice lawyers will also receive negative 4 points on all organ transplant lists for themselves if they should need an organ transplant.
This patient safety bill is also gaining traction.
Like a vicious chart battle between a new intern and a seasoned nurse, these propositions are starting to get out of control. The lawyers fired back by with Proposition 48 stating all patients now need a personal lawyer to attend all clinic and procedures with patients, just to make sure malpractice wasn’t occurring. This is being promoted as a patient safety issue for reading consents and maximizing malpractice lawsuits.
The new service will be billed at $250/hr and taken out of the physicians’ and nurses’ salary. To help pass the bill with the general public, this addendum was added to Prop 48 which touts the primary legislature as a bill making it illegal to use radioactive material (directly from a nuclear power plant) in children’s toys.
“Do you want your child to play, and god-forbid EAT radioactive material?” the ad states in a voice-over showing a nuclear power plant. “Then make it illegal by voting yes on Prop 48!”
Other ads say, “Ever been confused by all that legal mumbo jumbo at the doctor’s office? Vote Yes on prop 46 and Prop 48 to get a personal lawyer – at no cost to you – to help you.”
Critics clearly point out that it is because of lawyers that all that “mumbo jumbo” exists in the first place, and that this new law would create more of it, thus creating more legal paperwork and documentation.
“Doctors and nurses do not document enough,” an anonymous lawyer told GomerBlog. “If I had my way lawyers would treat the patients while doctors and nurses just sat and documented all day.”
This lawyer’s dream is closer than you think.
Prop 46 will make the Dr. slow down and spend more time on the patient. it will hold the Dr accountable when they’re careless. It will require doctors to be drug/alcohol tested, ensuring our safety. The days of the 5 minute appointment, tossing out a plethora of prescriptions without proper diagnosis is coming to an end!! The days of marginalizing our loved ones is coming to an END. Finally, this white coat, God like complex and arrogance is coming to an END! I look forward to this becoming a law! * I am a parent who lost his healthy 24 year old daughter, a new mother of just 4 months to a local doctor who carelessly gave her 2 medications that immediately killed her and the opposition wants me to be accepting? Not so much! This health and safety initiative reaches into each of our homes, providing that very necessary added layer of security for our families. For those thinking this is about the attorney’s…..Keep in mind that this is the only door open to you when you seek justice and want to hold a Dr. accountable. The only door!! ~ unless it falls under MICRA. Just as soon as Dr’s learns of our loved one’s death, they call legal and circle the wagons while we’re still in shock, bawling uncontrollably. We can expect more and we are going to get it….Yes on 46!
Yes!
Sad tragedy. I hope he went after the bar that was serving alcohol that night and filing a lawsuit against all bars.
Proposition 47. Global fees for malpractice lawyers not hourly fees.
Yes!!
Yes. As long as health care is treated like Burger King (“have it your way”) there will be prescription drug abuse. Period. Blaming the docs is like blaming the bartender for alcoholism, as docs now have about as much “say” as a bartender as a result of Press Gainey type BS. One other thing that will continue as long as the BK mentality continues? Over prescribing of antibiotics. I see folks “doctor shopping” for an abx rx for a viral illness even more than for narcs. And the “education” argument is nice and all, but THAT won’t stop it either. Unless you are living under a rock, EVERY ONE knows smoking is “bad for you” and MANY still smoke. Until docs are allowed to treat based on their professional judgment (and NOT just to keep the masses happy) there WILL be rampant abuse of the system – and it is unfair to force medical professionals to bear the consequences of patients’ decisions. (Don’t even get me STARTED on the Medicare not-gonna-reimburse-CHF-readmissions issue!)
The first part of this story CONTAINS NO SATIRE, AND IS FACTUAL: A ferocious yearlong battle over Proposition 46 will be decided in California at the polls this upcoming November. Proposition 46 includes proposals to drug test physicians, to raise caps on medical malpractice payments from $250,000 to $1,000,000, and to mandate checking narcotic prescriptions in an outdated and extremely inefficient state operated computer system. Trial lawyers were able to get momentum for this proposition by touting it as a patient safety bill while stealthily lumping in their true mission, making more money off of medical malpractice cases.
While we sympathize with Mr. Pack’s tragedy several years ago, this is NOT the way to fix the underlying opioid prescription issues. To think that doctors will only do the right thing if malpractice is raised is completely ignorant and belittling to the profession. Drug testing physicians is a completely separate topic. Besides we now have Press Ganey telling us to please all patients, so what are we to do?
Hahahaha, almost scary that I could see this actually happening.
Sadly the last part of this is true. Charting to cover your ass…especially with the new computer charting systems that replaces a checkmark on a paper chart with ten minutes of logging in, passwords, finding the right category and having to answer 20 irrelevant questions to get to the place you want…takes more time than patient care.
Sadly the last part of this is true. Charting to cover your ass…especially with the new computer charting systems that replaces a checkmark on a paper chart with ten minutes of logging in, passwords, finding the right category and having to answer 20 irrelevant questions to get to the place you want…takes more time than patient care.
Next proposition is nonrandom drug and alcohol testing for lawyers that propose asinine bills….
Next proposition is nonrandom drug and alcohol testing for lawyers that propose asinine bills….
Sadly, only the Prop 47 and 48 parts are satire :(
Sadly, only the Prop 47 and 48 parts are satire :(
LMAO! William James LaLima? MUHAHAHAHA!!!!!! (FYI, it’s satire, Billy. Just in case ya didn’t pick up on that.) ;-)
LMAO! William James LaLima? MUHAHAHAHA!!!!!! (FYI, it’s satire, Billy. Just in case ya didn’t pick up on that.) ;-)