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Apr. 9th, 2008
We need drugs
Apr. 9th, 2008 11:59 amhttp://aprilwitch.livejournal.com/309822.html
http://doctor-liza.livejournal.com/214409.html
http://moniava.livejournal.com/747041.html
These are the tree stories told by three independent people. The stories that they have been witnessing are outraging, awkward, and terrifying. They are told about children. Our children. And about grown up people. I almost every family which encountered oncologic diseases.
It happened so, that when Federal Committee for Drug Control was established, they started to fight not with the drug-addicted people but with doctors and their patients, and also with veterinary doctors. Since then it became impossible to obtain drugs for rapid pain relief in many cases. There are numerous stories about people who went home from hospitals for weekends whereas the procedure of obtaining drugs legally implies several stages which can take couple days altogether. We have encountered such situations. And my colleagues have also been in such situations. I will not tell stories about children, I will just describe my experience with getting the drugs for my wife's mother.
In addition, there are strict limits what you can do with drugs. For example, an onologist who signs the prescription can increase the dosage or decrease it. But he is unable to increase the dosage if it has been decreased before that. It means that in some cases the patients have to administer stronger drugs or drugs in larger quantities than they need. Because there is no simple legal procedure which the doctor can use to find a drug and its dosage that MATCHES the patient. Actually, as always in our country, there is a legal procedure which requires several other doctors and the head of clinic to approve these new prescriptions. But in many cases it simply does not work. Because the people who are to approve, do not know the patient, so they just DO NOT CARE what will happen to him. And in many cases they refuse to approve the primary oncologist's suggestions.
Moreover, the procedure of obtaining drugs is weird. Even if you have a prescription from a research center like Blokhin's, Gerzcen's, or the center in Obninsk, which specialize on oncology, you HAVE to go to your local oncology clinic to see the specialist there. And he has to write a prescription (officially only after seeing the patient himself, and in some cases they refuse to see patients which cannot come themselves). With this prescription you should go the see your local physician, which, in its turn, should see the patient himself and, in collaboration with a couple of officials in this local clinics, to sign special blanks. The number of this blanks is limited to the number of the current patients of this particular clinics +1 or two. That means that if any of doctors makes a mistake while writing the prescription, or if there are several newcomers, the clinics authorities have to apply for increased number of blanks to a Moscow Committee. And that takes time.
P.S. I also forgot to tell that if you got the final special blank but the silly technician put the wrong stamp on it, of if the stamp is right but not CLEAR enough, you have to start the procedure once again.
P.P.S. You have to take this special blank every 10 days, and a prescription from a local oncologist once a month. The second part is only time-consuming. But the first part in quite challenging because of New Year and other holidays. Before the last New Year, the regulations for this period were issued by Moscow bureaucrats at the very last moment.
P.P.P.S. Only certain relatives can obtain all these documents if the patient cannot go to the doctor and to the special pharmacy himself. even if I am legally married to Olya, I cannot have official right to get drugs for her mother. Only Olya or her father can, but neither of them were able to do that during the last year because strict roles at Olya's father's work and because of small Matvey.
Taking together, apart from the useless local oncologist if he is not your primary doctor helping you to struggle the disease, there should be much luck in seeing all the necessary specialists when you need them. And in many cases, when the patient leaves the hospital, he needs the drugs as soon as possible. And the AWFUL SYSTEM requires at least one full day, if not two or three days.
So, the QUESTION is: HOW MANY SUCH CASES SHOULD APPEAR BEFORE PEOPLE START DEMANDING TO CHANGE THE OFFICIAL ROLES? HOW MANY PATIENTS WILL DIE SUFFERING OF SEVERE PAINS BEFORE OUTROAR AGAINST BUREAUCRATS HUMILIATING THEIR OWN PEERS GROWS UP?
http://doctor-liza.livejournal.com/214409.html
http://moniava.livejournal.com/747041.html
These are the tree stories told by three independent people. The stories that they have been witnessing are outraging, awkward, and terrifying. They are told about children. Our children. And about grown up people. I almost every family which encountered oncologic diseases.
It happened so, that when Federal Committee for Drug Control was established, they started to fight not with the drug-addicted people but with doctors and their patients, and also with veterinary doctors. Since then it became impossible to obtain drugs for rapid pain relief in many cases. There are numerous stories about people who went home from hospitals for weekends whereas the procedure of obtaining drugs legally implies several stages which can take couple days altogether. We have encountered such situations. And my colleagues have also been in such situations. I will not tell stories about children, I will just describe my experience with getting the drugs for my wife's mother.
In addition, there are strict limits what you can do with drugs. For example, an onologist who signs the prescription can increase the dosage or decrease it. But he is unable to increase the dosage if it has been decreased before that. It means that in some cases the patients have to administer stronger drugs or drugs in larger quantities than they need. Because there is no simple legal procedure which the doctor can use to find a drug and its dosage that MATCHES the patient. Actually, as always in our country, there is a legal procedure which requires several other doctors and the head of clinic to approve these new prescriptions. But in many cases it simply does not work. Because the people who are to approve, do not know the patient, so they just DO NOT CARE what will happen to him. And in many cases they refuse to approve the primary oncologist's suggestions.
Moreover, the procedure of obtaining drugs is weird. Even if you have a prescription from a research center like Blokhin's, Gerzcen's, or the center in Obninsk, which specialize on oncology, you HAVE to go to your local oncology clinic to see the specialist there. And he has to write a prescription (officially only after seeing the patient himself, and in some cases they refuse to see patients which cannot come themselves). With this prescription you should go the see your local physician, which, in its turn, should see the patient himself and, in collaboration with a couple of officials in this local clinics, to sign special blanks. The number of this blanks is limited to the number of the current patients of this particular clinics +1 or two. That means that if any of doctors makes a mistake while writing the prescription, or if there are several newcomers, the clinics authorities have to apply for increased number of blanks to a Moscow Committee. And that takes time.
P.S. I also forgot to tell that if you got the final special blank but the silly technician put the wrong stamp on it, of if the stamp is right but not CLEAR enough, you have to start the procedure once again.
P.P.S. You have to take this special blank every 10 days, and a prescription from a local oncologist once a month. The second part is only time-consuming. But the first part in quite challenging because of New Year and other holidays. Before the last New Year, the regulations for this period were issued by Moscow bureaucrats at the very last moment.
P.P.P.S. Only certain relatives can obtain all these documents if the patient cannot go to the doctor and to the special pharmacy himself. even if I am legally married to Olya, I cannot have official right to get drugs for her mother. Only Olya or her father can, but neither of them were able to do that during the last year because strict roles at Olya's father's work and because of small Matvey.
Taking together, apart from the useless local oncologist if he is not your primary doctor helping you to struggle the disease, there should be much luck in seeing all the necessary specialists when you need them. And in many cases, when the patient leaves the hospital, he needs the drugs as soon as possible. And the AWFUL SYSTEM requires at least one full day, if not two or three days.
So, the QUESTION is: HOW MANY SUCH CASES SHOULD APPEAR BEFORE PEOPLE START DEMANDING TO CHANGE THE OFFICIAL ROLES? HOW MANY PATIENTS WILL DIE SUFFERING OF SEVERE PAINS BEFORE OUTROAR AGAINST BUREAUCRATS HUMILIATING THEIR OWN PEERS GROWS UP?