Jun 17 2019
Just as it’s important to know your rights as a citizen, it’s also important to know your rights as a patient so that you can get the best possible care from the medical system.
Jun 13 2019
Know Your Rights as a Patient in the USA – Vol. 502, June 13, 2019
During the past month, I have been taking a course on the legal aspects of medical ethics. There is a reason why we need to all be aware of our rights and that has to do with the fact that over the many years, people have had treatments that they never agreed to, experiments done on them that they had no idea was occurring and lesser treatment because of being a minority or in a lower economic class. So, here are your rights as a patient. They have been hard won, so take them seriously and respect them for your greatest good.
Your first right is that of respect for others. In the area of medical treatment, this is your right to autonomy, meaning that you have the right to make decisions regarding what is done with your own body. You also have the right to beneficence, meaning that treatment is to be given to help lessen any distress or pain that you may be experiencing from your medical condition regardless of your ability to pay. Nonmaleficense is a term that means that any benefit of treatment must outweigh the harm that can be done by that treatment because many treatments have risks associated with them. You are entitled to the justice of having the necessary care given to you without suffering any discrimination. You also have a right to the confidentiality of your medical information. Lastly, you have a right to fidelity, meaning that your medical providers will perform their duty while keeping their word and promises to you.
Now that you have a basic understanding of your ethical rights in how your medical treatment is to be delivered, I will explain why informed consent is required for your safety and the many issues it involves. However, the most important concept for you to understand is that you being an adult and of sound mind, have the right to determine what is done with your body. You have the right to have a treatment that is based on your beliefs, values and treatment options, with the right to accept the treatment or reject the treatment. The exception to that rule is if you are found unconscious in a state of emergency where an operation is required to save your life. With that in mind, it is important for you to understand what constitutes informed consent and what falls short of being informed consent.
First, it is the physician that has the obligation to explain to you what the procedure is that he is advising, the risks involved in the treatment, and any alternative medical treatment available in language that you can understand. If you as the patient fully understand the risk of the treatment and give consent, you are required to sign the consent form. The physician can appoint another person on your health care team to get your signature, but only with the knowledge that the physician has completely explained the procedure to you, and that you understand the risks involved and the outcome of the procedure.
If you are from a non-English speaking background, you are never to feel pressured into signing an informed consent form. It is up to the physician to have a health interpreter explain the procedure and the risks involved in your native language so that you can give informed consent.
All informed consent for procedures must be done in written form with your signature. Included in the informed consent form will be the nature of your condition, the proposed treatment, procedure, examination or test, the risks of the treatment, any alternatives you may have for your treatment and the outcomes of the treatment. Informed consent is your agreement to allow surgery or other invasive procedure to be performed on you. The consent must be given before any pre-medication or mind-altering substances are taken. Lastly, the only surgery to be performed is that which you have signed the informed consent form to receive.
The procedures that require informed consent are surgical, endoscopic, biopsies radiation, some blood tests, chemotherapies, and most vaccinations. Informed consent is also required If you are participating in a research study involving experimental drugs . Informed consent is given after the disclosure of the study-specific information has been explained to the participants.
You have very strong rights where informed consent is concerned with legal ramifications if it is found that you have not received all the information that you require to make an informed decision in language that you fully understand. Some of these could be loss of licensure, negative accreditation for both the healthcare provider and the institution where the treatment occurred.
Receiving healthcare today with all the fancy technology and new medications can be both complicated and intimidating. Always remember that it is up to your physician and your treatment team to work with you to make the best decisions that you can for the best outcome for your health and wellbeing. Ask as many questions as you need, so that you are as certain as you can be that you made the correct decision for yourself.
Jun 10 2019
Jun 06 2019
Living Outside the Box – Vol. 501, June 6, 2019
Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity of meeting so many new people, some who have done incredible things with their lives. Because the reality is that we all can create the sort of life that we so desire if we are willing to think outside of the proverbial box.
One of the ways in which I thought outside of the proverbial box, many years ago, was by knowing that there had to be a better way to help people to heal their mental and emotional issues. I knew this because I could not make sense of the world of psychiatry that I was working in at the time.
I knew that no one is made to feel better by constantly being told about their deficits.
I knew that being overmedicated and unable to even stay awake, was never going to help a person to become what they could be. And, I knew that throwing labels at people would never allow them to find out who they really were apart from the label that was given, many times in error.
As great as this outside the box understanding for me was, I found myself in the homes of people who have lived amazing lives, living their dreams. So, I wanted to know how it was that these people were able to break away from the standard form of life, living in houses with mortgages, and whatever else society deemed ‘normal.” The truth of the matter was, that they just chose to live life according to their own dreams.
The first person that I met on my explorations starting last summer, was the most spiritual of people – one whose soul you could see through his eyes. Here was a 30-year-old man, who had spent the previous five years of his life living all over the world. He couch-surfed his way around the globe unless he couldn’t find a host. In that case, he slept under the stars in his hammock. During the time that I spent with him, upon his friend’s land, camping in a tent – a very large tent on a platform – I learned that he learned healing techniques from the shaman all over the world. Now that he was back in the US, he wanted to live off the grid being as self-sufficient as possible. By the time I left, he had to find a job to bring in some income with his savings getting to a lower level than he felt comfortable. But, could you imagine yourself taking off to see the world and learning from shaman how to care for your health? I have heard of people doing this sort of thing, but till I met him, I never known of someone to take off for that long a time to just learn and explore.
The second person that I met that had lived an alternative life, did so with her husband after he retired. She had always been involved in sailing, having grown up with it in her family. For 25 years they sailed the Caribbean exploring the people and the islands there. They lived simply on a 40 foot 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom sailboat, that was custom made for them. It really was not very fancy but had all the basics necessary to live at sea for as long as they desired. This woman’s mother was an artist, many of her whimsical paintings on the tiles surrounding the bathtub and on the cabinets. More serious watercolors of churches around the world decorated the walls of her home. Her mother had instilled in her the idea that she could be who and what she wanted to be in this life. When her husband came down with Parkinson’s they had to come back on land.
I wonder what you see for yourself in the not too distant future. I wonder what dreams you have that have yet to be fulfilled. And, I wonder what it would take for you to fulfill them. Because, I know for myself, after leaving conventional mental health and learning hypnotism, I have been able to travel all over the world, bringing this work to Africa on two different occasions and now I am working on going abroad again for a year to study Peace & Conflict Management in Israel. Because, this is the thing: we have but one life that we know for sure, and the quality of it is never based on those regrets we have, or those labels given to us, or those things that did not come out the way we wanted. The quality of our lives is based on creating the life of our dreams, doing those things that resonate with us. Over time these things may change, and that is as it should be.
It is through the eyes of a child, that one learns the beauty of having a curiosity, to go explore the world, learn those things that are interesting to you and perhaps while doing so, making the world your playground and helping some people along the way.
Jun 03 2019
May 30 2019
Knowing Your Own Truth – Wayne Dyer -Vol. 500 May 30, 2019
So often in this blog, we speak of those things that cause us great concern or great upset, and yet, there is a whole other way of viewing our world and that is what I would like to share with you today.
Wayne Dyer spent his life teaching people how to live their lives on purpose, never allowing people to blame their past for their present situations. His teachings were those of self-responsibility having learned this in his youngest years living in orphanages, as he tells his own story.
He speaks of beliefs, those ideas that come from outside of yourself: from your family, schools, religions, and community that cause you to doubt. Beliefs come from the trauma where people are taught whom to hate from hundreds of years ago, like in the middle east, or anywhere you see prejudice, a pre-judging. Because of that doubt, your beliefs will always place in you a difficult spot when you face challenges.
Instead, come from a place of “I know that to be true.” Knowings are a part of you because you learn them through your life’s experience. They come from inside you, no one instilled them in you.
So ask yourself:
What have I learned from this experience?
When you follow your knowings, there is never a reason to defend yourself, because you know your real truth. Hold on to that.
Beliefs will let you down. Knowings are metaphysical, beyond the physical – and they will never let you down.
Learn to trust yourself and you will be amazed at the amazing things you will be able to accomplish in your life. When you live your life on purpose, especially while being of service, you will have an amazing life that is fulfilling.
May 27 2019
Sometimes when you want to build an excellent life of your own, it helps to have role models to guide you. Master Hypnotist Suzanne Kellner-Zinck relates her own stories of meeting extraordinary people who have crafted their excellent lives.