Gaston56
Sacramento,#2Consumer Comment
Wed, July 13, 2011
Everyone here has to keep in mind why, when a patient's services are interrupted, especially when everything was going so well for the patient, the reaction up and down the chain of command at Kaiser Permanente is not to attempt to correct the situation.
First, with someone like Dr. Susan Scholey, should her decisions (bad as they are in this case) were to be challenged, she can cause lots of problems for Kaiser Permanente.
Second, anyone who takes on the responsibility of attempting to serve a patient in jeopardy, the entire weight of proof falls on his or her shoulders. With this one, even though it is cut and dried, and the only reasonable thing to do here with this non-litigious patient is to grant his request, the entire system Kaiser has to deal with these kinds of situations is adversarial and, therefore, inappropriate. In other words, Kaiser expects patients in this kind of situation will be belligerent, which Dr. Bernard is NOT.
That is, Kaiser just can't or won't believe that they are dealing with a sweetheart of a patient like Dr. Bernard, who doesn't want his pound of flesh, but simply wants to be returned to his doctor in one piece.
When an organization doesn't get too many people who are willing to simply let a problem die, by sheer habit that organization doesn't know how to deal with that peaceful personality. It just seems too simple to say, "Sure, we'll get you back into the Spinal Clinic, since you do have a deteriorating spinal condition as verified by X-ray."
As has been said before, dozens of people could have corrected this problem, and saved everyone, especially the patient, lots of grief. But, no one has done that.
Dr. Evan Bloom's reaction is probably the most honest. He just didn't want any of this on his doorstep. Who can blame him? However, since every single person with the power to advocate for this patient has passed, except Dr. Rinzler himself, and Dr. Kegang Hu, it just becomes too heavy a burden for anyone to step in and be a champion.
Three years ago when this patient went through something similar, there was one physician who did step in and simply solve the problem. That was Dr. Robert Midgley.
This time though, Dr. Midgley felt the price was too high to do what would in effect be the right thing, so he passed on helping the patient.
Therefore, Risk Management has taken over responsibility.
I'm sure there was a sigh of relief throughout the South Sacramento facility when all the administrators could now say honestly that the situation was out of their hands.
Since they passed it along in silence, of course, eventually the case HAD to be out of their hands. That's the way life works.
Let's all hope against hope that Dr. Bernard will eventually be returned to Dr. Rinzler. That is all he has ever asked. I've met the man, and he is the nicest fellow you'd ever want to have in your home.
If Kaiser can find fault with Dr. Bernard, most of the rest of us are really in trouble.
bethcharette
Sacramento,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, July 12, 2011
The former semi-pro football player spoken of here, Dr. Ronald Bernard (mathematics), is also a retired State employee who was very special to the people of California during his career.
For example, when the earthquakes hit San Francisco and Los Angeles in the 1980's, he was the fellow who, working 96 hour straight shifts, designed the computer systems (under tremendous pressure) that tracked the recovery of family property owners in both places. Without him, both FEMA's and the Department of Social Services' efforts to come to the aid of tens of thousands of rubble haunted California families would have ground to a halt.
I mention this because, sometimes, Californians forget that there are many retired State employees who have more than earned their salaries during their careers, in effect, true heroes. (Perhaps Dr. Bernard developed his ability to work well under pressure playing football. Who knows...)
Which brings us to PERS and their blind spot relative to Kaiser Permanente. Somehow PERS fails to see how Kaiser fails, often in spectacular ways, to serve many State retirees when their stars begin to fade in old age.
A quick survey of the PERS rating systems have Kaiser Permanente ranked as a five star insurer and medical provider.
If this weren't such a bad joke, it would actually be laughable.
Kaiser Permanente's recent denial of Dr. Bernard's access to the spinal clinic over the vociferous objections of his physician, Dr. Gary Rinzler, is just one of hundreds of cases of this kind every year that are hushed up using every possible technique, from a Member Services complaint process which hasn't issued a patient favorable decision in over ten years, to a Risk Management system that provides no personal interface opportunities, meets in secret, and, using a combination of shallow paper arbitration tactics and empty promises, delays Medical Representatives until, after eighteen months, and more denials, the patient is left with what he or she started with, i.e. nothing.
Has anyone out there attempted to fight healthy lawyers while suffering extreme pain? Fighting lawyers is not a pleasant prospect at any time. However, just think about fighting 30 healthy lawyers while suffering as Dr. Bernard does, from a crushed spine, all this while approaching the age of 70.
How does this kind of thing happen anyway?
Well, promote a physician over more qualified individuals to a position of Chief of the Department of Physical Medicine, a person willing to use her power to settle scores with individuals who were former colleagues.
Combine such an appointment with an all male chain of command too weak to oppose the appointee when she makes terrible mistakes, and a perfect storm of elder abuse and patient abandonment ensues.
Doctors are not built for conflict, and when a physician, especially a female physician with female strengths, happens to come upon the scene, she can inflict tremendous hurt on others. And, Dr. Susan Scholey, the new Chief, is doing just that.
The specialist who was treating Dr. Bernard, Dr. Gary Rinzler, an eminently qualified doctor, and specialist regarding the very kind of conditions from which Dr. Bernard suffers, has been placed out of reach to Dr. Bernard by Dr. Scholey. (Dr. Rinzler is a target of Dr. Scholey, that is, one of those colleagues mentioned above who had the temerity to disagree with Susan when her power was not absolute.)
Pass by Dr. Rinzler's office any day he is on duty and Dr. Scholey has arranged to have signs announcing that Dr. Rinzler is WAAAY behind schedule posted for all the patients to see. Dr. Rinzler is behind schedule because of the booking schedule Dr. Scholey has demanded. Try to find any other office on that floor, which is extensive, embarrassing physicians in that manner, and you will fail. From this advocate's position, that is out and out harassment. Isn't anyone watching?
Bottom line though for this informational addition is: While Dr. Scholey makes working conditions impossible for Dr. Rinzler, Dr. Bernard is being barred from the spinal clinic. He has no spinal services. (Incidentally, Dr. Rinzler is not the source of our information. There are persons working in and around that office who currently do not wish to be identified, but who are upset with what they are seeing happen to patients and physicians alike working in that atmosphere.)
Back to the point of this addition: So here we have PERS publicly rating Kaiser as a five star insurer and health provider, and just ten miles away, one of their star retirees is being denied services that are critical to the maintenance of any semblance of comfort in his retirement.
HOW CAN PERS FAIL SO BADLY?
Well, PERS loves good stories, not bad, about the programs they offer retirees, especially star retirees.
Kaiser Risk Management in Oakland and Los Angeles try their darnedest to shut stories like this one down, and, before the RipOff Report and Scam Informer were available, that was easy to do.
After all, with all the money Kaiser has, you can imagine the pressure they can bring to bear.
We patient advocates are attempting to get the book opened on Kaiser absurdities like the out sized power of a Dr. Susan Scholey to run a mean private kingdom within the South Sacramento Kaiser campus.
Until Dr. Bernard is returned to Dr. Rinzler, a man uniquely qualified to monitor Dr. Bernard's set of medical conditions, both Kaiser and PERS ARE FAILING BADLY IN THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES.