The Problem with Autism Speaks

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Thank you for the medical soapbox, AOII Angel.

An informed society is a healthy society. This has nothing to do with autism but I know people whose lives were saved because they educated themselves on health issues and were able to tell nurses and doctors what medications they were taking that would have a negative reaction to other medications the nurses insisted on giving them. One nurse, despite the fact that my family member and doctor had agreed that particular medications should not be mixed, tried hiding the medication under other pills assuming the patient was oblivious enough to just throw all the pills in her mouth---I was in the hospital room shocked a nurse would attempt that and glad when my family member called the nurse out.

However this doesn't mean everyone is a doctor or nurse. Being informed helps doctors and nurses do what they do effectively but doesn't replace what they do. Long gone are the days when people were not required to be educated and trained to be a medical doctor, and anyone with a needle and knife could work on your body.

I completely agree with you. Being educated and informed is one thing. I tell my patients all the time to research their conditions, but the information you find on the Internet in no way replaces the medical knowledge of your physician. It is there to help guide patients for discussions with their doctors. Having family with you at the hospital is always advisable. Mistakes do happen, and patients and their families need to be their own advocates. As a physician, I have had a pharmacy give me wrong doses of 3 medications. If I didn't know better, I would have overdosed. (I called their district manager to complain as well as lodging a complaint with the state medical board.) When I am in the hospital, my husband or mother stays with me the whole time. If I don't like a medical opinion, I seek a second opinion from another expert in the field, because they know the science better than I do. Lastly, if I decide to do something against medical advise, I don't advertise it to others as THE thing to do. It's not responsible. I don't have outcomes data on MY choice. I decided that the risks were okay and that it wasn't worthwhile to continue with treatment. That doesn't mean that MY choice is right for others. If I swayed someone because of my position and they decided not to get treated ONLY because I didn't, and subsequently died, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. People don't consider their choices.