Do doctors ever lie for profit?

Did my doctor lie to me and overblow my condition? Is it common for hospitals to lie to patients in a way that requires a shit load of tests to nickel and dime them? Has a doctor ever lied to you and made it seem like you were going to die?

==tl;dr Story==

About four months ago, I was suffering from allergies and lack of sleep (primarily due to sleep apnea, which I wasn't diagnosed for but I believed at the time that I had it) I. One night, I decided to skip sleep because I was too engaged in a project that I wanted to finish. I ended up having a pretty bad fever.

I tried to go to sleep but failed, like every other night. I probably only slept for one hour at most and had really bad chills. I couldn't stop shivering and decided to wear cold weather clothing, had my thick blanket on and the heater on high. I felt very weak, fatigued and ultimately decided to go to the ER. Originally, I wanted to go to urgent care because of my issues with my allergy affecting my nasal breathing and lack of sleep but the hospital decided emergency.

The doctor was a young man, probably in his early 30s. He seemed like a joking type of guy, light-hearted, etc. As they were doing tests, the doctor came back and told me I had to stay the night (it was early morning when I went). He said that I was "seriously ill," and "sick-sick." He mentioned something about high white blood cell count and hinted leukemia (he wasn't explicit in saying that it was cancer, but he made it sound ominous and terminal, so they do more tests. My reaction was panic and despair, but the nurse told me not to worry, and that I'll be fine. I didn't believe her. They put me on IV and said I was very dehydrated and had the air thing plugged to my nose. (to be continued in my next reply)

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Continued:

    As they're doing more tests, another doctor came and took my blood with some kind of large machine. He told me if there was anything wrong with me, the hospital would call me (they never called back). As the day turned to afternoon, my fever rapidly dissipated. My temperature was 102 F and went to 97 F. I had 3L of IV into my body, the fever was gone and I felt normal. Another nurse came by, her tone was reassuring, saying I'm a healthy young man, etc. Another male nurse came and I asked him if I could leave. He was like we can't legally hold you here, but we recommend against leaving. He wasn't very convincing in telling me to stay and by the tone and nonchalance of his voice, he seemed to think I didn't need to stay.

    The hospital report stated I had "upper respiratory infection," which is literally just the common cold. The cold went away completely. I wasn't given any prescriptions but the report told me to take ibuprofen and acetaminophen together until symptoms disappear.

    I went to the ER three months after because I was involved in a serious car crash because some idiot in a V8 Chevy Silverado was doing 50mph in a 25 mph lane at a red light when I crossed an intersection. I was badly hurt and my car was totaled, but miraculously, none of my bones were broken even though it felt like a rib was cracked. I was sent to a different ER two cities away since many of them were filled due to increased emergencies from the hot weather.

    The doctors do pretty much the same tests as my local ER; x-rays, blood test, etc. but this hospital looked more up-to-date and advanced. For starters, their computers were running Windows 10 and not XP like the one I went to. I was checked out two hours later and they just told me to take ibuprofen and not to engage in any strenuous physical activities.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I asked them if there was anything else wrong with me, and told them about the incident that I had at the other hospital. Outside of my high blood pressure (which was because of my sleep apnea at the time, which I have since gotten prescribed a CPAP machine and fixed my sleeping issues), they couldn't determine anything worth looking into. They told me if there was anything serious disease-wise, their tests would have detected something not right.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I'm not going to read all that, but GPs frequently lie about less severe things in order to keep you coming back for more tests or to give you prescriptions on a particular drug where they get the highest kickbacks from pharma companies. I'm sure there are some unscrupulous doctors out there who lie about more serious conditions, but they are very rare. It's like if a mechanic tells you that your car needs a $10k repair. You ALWAYS get a second opinion to make sure the mechanic or doctor isn't just looking to milk you dry

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Not reading this blog post but yes. Doctor (of physiotherapy so not really) here.

    I started out honest but kept getting more and more pressure from my bosses to stop getting people better and make sure to keep them on the hook for longer because profit. Depends on the type of health system they're working in I guess. Anything that's privately paid for there's always gonna be the possibility of the doctor exaggerating for financial gain. I know a lot of surgeons who've outright admitted that to me.

    I never flagrantly lie but I'll stretch the truth all the time to patients or else I'll get fired. There are honest ones and there are shifty ones I guess, kinda like mechanics

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Doctor of physiotherapy lmao so not a doctor at all. Don’t disgrace a profession you’re not even a part of.

      Actual MD here.
      Honestly it’s not that we’re trying to charge you extra money. It’s just that if we miss something we could easily get sued it mostly stems from defensive practice. It’s such a ballache it’s not worth it for us.

      Honestly, with experience you can eyeball a lot of patients and can tell how sick they are depending on the suspected diagnosis of course. But when you miss just one you can’t go to court and explain why you didn’t order a certain blood test and say he “looked alright to me”.

      In my scope of practice - I’m 2 years away from being a Spine Surgeon.
      For example, take Cauda Equina. (Compression of the bottom of your spinal cord - can lead to permanent loss of lower limb function and bladder and sexual function)
      When someone describes certain symptoms of lower limb pain especially on both sides I have to scan them. They need the MRI. I make them get it every single time and it’s very expensive.

      It’s cauda equina a small percentage of the time (true cauda equina less than 2% of the time in our centre) but when you run the numbers the cost of getting sued is so high (millions) that it actually works out better economically to scan them all so you don’t miss one.

      Blame the greedy lawyers who dedicate their lives to making sure doctors who make even honest mistakes gets sued

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Easy mate, I already made a self deprecated about the qualification without you rubbing it in. Just presumed that OP lives in the states where physios call themselves doctors lol (which I agree is disrespectful to my colleagues who've done PhDs in useful fields, med school is a joke). It's a legal title and I'm using it in this example. Ooh one extra year of uni full of insufferable trust fund wankers taking illicit drugs and sexually assaulting each other, how superior. Go back to ya useless laminectomies on every radiculopathy that walks through the door c**t.

        But yes OP, what he said.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >it’s a legal title.
          This is sad cope.

          >Sad for you I’m an MD PhD. I have both. PhD was not close to the difficulty and responsibility of medical school but you wouldn’t know either. Little Weasel lmao. Just so you know, I don’t call PhDs Doctor either.

          Just remember every time you try to call yourself doctor whoever hears it has the internal monologue laughing at the cope. It’s like the Manlet who lies about his height.
          Stop trying to trick innocent patients into believing you know an iota of the human body. To call yourself a Doctor is genuinely laughable.
          Learn your place.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Haven't yet met a single MD who wasn't a wanker except for a few in their late 50s and 60s. Maybe it takes a few decades for the insecurity and self hatred it takes rich kids to get through med school to wear off.

            Never called myself a doctor to a patient, or to another doctor, just used it as an anecdote to try and answer OPs question. Started a PhD but now it's on the backburner while I have other priorities in life. The world of research was definitely tougher than I ever found my degree to be, and I worked closely with the med students and did a lot of subjects with them so I know roughly what med school is like. Congrats for the double qualification though, must've been tough.

            I know you're memeing, but it sounds like you've never worked with a good physio either in hospital or in a sporting setting and seen the good they can do. I think overall medical doctors are superior for obvious reasons, but the health system needs the whole multidisciplinary team, not just docs. Worked with some doctors who are bloody useless and physios who are guns and vice versa.

            At least I'm tall, handsome, white, in a stable relationship, have a good group of friends, and a large penis. Yes I'm triggered, but I've just met too many dickhead MDs who are way too in to the smell of their own shits, and you sound like one of them.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              Are you from the UK?

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              Yes fair enough.
              I have worked with excellent physios and specialist nurses. The evidence is clear, my patients wouldn’t do half as well if it weren’t for the post op physio. I have a lot of respect for each profession as an entity on its own.

              That being said, Im openly frustrated by those who call themselves Doctor by title and the “mid level creep” that plagued me throughout my training and take away training opportunities from doctors for the sake of hospitals saving money. You’re getting the full brunt of my frustration here because this is anonymous board. In real life, I couldn’t say these things other than to Doctor colleagues because understandably there’s a certain responsibility that you have as a doctor and say you have to present yourself at all times.

              A responsibility that those who are not MD do not deal with which adds to my frustration.

              Just my explanation here I’m not saying I’m not a wanker or c**t in real life because I am. But it’s very situation dependent.

              FYI
              The older generation of doctors are nice to you but give us absolute hell. Especially in surgery. It probably just trickles down.

              Wouldn’t change it for anything though. Best job in the world.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              >The world of research was definitely tougher than I ever found my degree to be, and I worked closely with the med students and did a lot of subjects with them so I know roughly what med school is like.
              Absolutely. An MD is nothing more than a glorified tradesman. Someone comes to you with a problem, you think about your knowledge from training and experience, and then you go to work on it filling in the trivial details as you go. A properly trained robot or computer software could do it. With something like research or serious media work you are constantly on a treadmill of discovery and creativity. There's no letting up, it's sink or swim. The internet is continuing to expose the medical profession as more and more of a farce in many cases.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                As a researcher I would point out that research is a farce as well.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Maybe but research is only a farce 90% of the time while being a doctor is a farce 99% of the time.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Maybe but research is only a farce 90% of the time while being a doctor is a farce 99% of the time.

                Are things really as bad as pic related makes it out to be?

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Yeah, those are pretty reasonable statements actually.
                I've actually come to admire the ability of drug companies to completely frick over any and every system made to keep them in check and to protect the general population.
                Where I live the drug companies have actually managed to make it so that the tax payers cover the cost of drug trials and they still turn in the most half assed, bullshit indirect comparison nonsense.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        what the actual frick are you talking about you moronic homosexual. "cauda equina" is not a medical condition, it's a part of a human's anatomy.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Cauda equina syndrome you dumbass.
          Compression of the cauda equina which is part of the human anatomy.
          In clinical setting we colloquially say the patient has cauda equina

          And joke amongst ourselves “frauda equina” because of how often we get called for something that isn’t actually cauda

          Jesus Christ google is free

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Why do you type in such a hostile manner

            Are you ok bro

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              I don't think he was being hostile, I think you were being hostile.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                That was my first comment in the thread.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                ok, well it looked to me like he was making a valid post and you were baiting.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            you do understand there are multiple pathologies of the cauda equina right? frick you and your moronic colleagues you fricking lazy dumbass c**t.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Most doctors I have met are high functioning morons that literally cannot diagnose shit outside of a very few specific subsets of what they are trained to look for. The old 'when you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail' adage holds true here. The vast majority of doctors do functionally zero critical thinking and just go down a checklist of symptoms and match them to diseases or conditions they are trained to diagnose. Your entire profession could be replaced by an algorithm and I assume the only reason it hasn't been is because it is a lot harder to get an algorithm to compromise its own morals for profit.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          D Kruger got something for you.
          Don’t be silly for the sake of sounding enlightened, you’re not 16.
          Nurses tried to do something as “simple” as family medicine. They followed algorithms as you said and litigations went through the roof and many patients died from things that would have been prevented.

          Algorithms don’t give you the nuance.

          But they are all online for free. Next time you or your loved one is gravely sick then just use them, disregard doctors advice. Best of luck

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            >gravely sick

            Most people aren't gravely sick and most people have very easily controlled problems.

            If you get labs done, about 80% of people would be able to treat themselves with the help of a pharmacist to make sure they aren't dosing themselves too much or mixing the wrong meds

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        I don't live in America (Scandinavia) and I've solved a lot more health problems on my own than any doctor has. In fact, doctors have only ever made things worse for me.

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    TL;DR

    EVER HEARD OF COVID, Black person?

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      OP here. They took two COVID tests on me at the ER, one rapid and the other a 24-hour test. Both results were negative.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        COVID WAS A LIE FOR PROFIT YOU HERD ANIMAL

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          I never got the jab, anon. The doctor asked the question and I told him I didn't get the vaccine because of laziness and because of the very low likelihood of death (death rate was 0.94% of the infected in my city).

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            OP you are coming across as legitimately autistic

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Dude dont tell me this when I could very well need to see a doctor soon because of rapid waist size inflation.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Just shut up and take the pharmaceuticals anon.

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    text not green; did not read

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I know right, how are we supposed to share this to reddit for upnigs

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >hinted leukemia (he wasn't explicit in saying that it was cancer, but he made it sound ominous and terminal, so they do more tests
    He just told you that your condition might be serious and you immediately thought of Leukemia?
    >but the nurse told me not to worry, and that I'll be fine. I didn't believe her.
    Buddy, I'm going to be honest, you sound a little paranoid.

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    You're an idiot

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Does adhd, ssris, covid, vaccines ring any bells?

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Ok I read the full post. As a medical person who's worked in hospitals (physio from a few posts ago), it sounded like you were quite sick and they wanted to keep you there to make sure you weren't going to die. It being an upper respiratory infection in the end was more likely secondary to your compromised immune system from allergies and shit sleep, and you should be happy that was all it was. Even if a doctor thinks chances are you'll be fine, if you're acutely unwell and you go home and die later that's very bad for the hospital and that doctor - so they're usually very cautious.

    It costing you an arm and a leg is a byproduct of living in presumably a shit hole country without a socialised medical system

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I live in the United States of America and have insurance. But then again, California is no different from shithole countries.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >United States of America
        >not a shithole
        I have some bad news, anon

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I should remind you that the allergies weren't the deadly kind. It was hay fever allergies.

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    No, none of them have ever lied in recorded history. Trust every one of them.

  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I had a doctor lie for me to get surgery for sleep apnea quicker. Psych lied against me to stay longer in mental ward. They also lied about explaining side effects of meds.

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    No OP doctors never lie

  14. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    The american Healthcare system is designed to kill you while maximizing how much money they can take from you before you gracelessly expire surrounded by dirty black and hispanic orderlies/nurses.

  15. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Sad: here is some drugs
    Penis not working as well: here some drugs
    Can’t sleep: here is some drugs
    Want to die: here is some drugs
    Actually dying: here is some drugs

  16. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    You America fricks are weird. It's free here in Canada there is no nickel dining.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Our health care is barely any better than the Americans. Coverage from the neck down, unfunded overworked hospitals.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Oh and more and more telehealth bullshit. If you have a family doctor hold onto them like nothing else.

  17. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Everyone in the developed world, under every health care system, is consuming a ton of health care. Like 15% of all spending is going into health care. It doesn't matter what health care system you are in, that is what is happening.

    This is also well past the point of diminishing returns. If you gave someone in the developed world an extra $5k of money to spend on healthcare, on average they wouldn't end up any healthier.

    I think people just don't care about health when they are visiting a doctor. Like, getting healthier just isn't what the whole ordeal is about ultimately. I think healthcare spending is more about feeling cared about, and caring about our family, and avoiding immensely difficult decisions about our own body. When you spend more money on healthcare you are buying feelz and not health.

  18. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    There’s definitely some that lie to make money / save money, but in my opinion the most common reason for them lying is is they don’t really care (the same kind of clock watchers you find in any workplace) and trying to avoid any appearance of incompetence.

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