I was discussing this topic with some of my co-workers, (who are nurses) and I also wanted to mention the discrimination that goes on in regards to who gets pain medicine and who dosen't. It is a documented fact that patients on Medicaid have a hard time getting controlled substances, even for acute emergencies. I have read somewhere in one of the doctors handbooks, mentioned that patients with Medicaid are more likely to abuse their meds or sell them. I have also noticed, when working in the ER, that patients of color are not given narcotics as often as caucasian patients. Once I had an attack of kidney stone pain and went to the ER in the hospital in which I work. They were great, gave me Demerol there, and enough Percocets to last until the stone passed. And this was even before they actually had seen the stone on an xray.(just to make sure I wasn't faking) They just gave me mt pills, referred me to the urologist, and sent me home. Now, about a month ago, I was working in the ER. An older black man came in doubled over in pain. He was about 55-60, pretty well dressed. Not a homeless person or a street type. Over the course of a few hours, It was determined that he probably had a kidney stone. The thing that made me so disgusted was that all the time while that man was waiting there in agony-at least four hours-no one even mentioned giving him something for the pain. He was in his room trying not to scream, and had to be shuttled back and forth from Xray to CT and back with no meds. When he was finally released, he was given 12 tylenol #3 and referral to a crappy doctor who I know dosent' give out meds either. I just thought that this whole incident was just awful. I can't say that all doctors treat their patients like that but what I have heard from my friends is that this is very common. I just wanted to put this out there and see if anyone else has expereinced this?
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