Dying Teen Is Being Denied A Heart Transplant Because He’s Had Trouble With The Law

[magical thyme]

191. compliance within medicine refers to whether or not a patient is likely to take their medicine,

follow their prescribed diet, etc. Outcomes depend on patient compliance. And one thing that President Obama has pushed is reimbursing hospitals based on patient outcomes.

So, for example, we had diabetic in the ED a few weeks in full-blown diabetic ketoacidosis with a blood pH of 6.9. (Below 7.0 is "not compatible with life" according to my MLT program director.)

A diabetic cannot go on a drinking binge without potentially dire consequences.That person was referred to as "non-compliant" for going on a life-threatening drinking binge.

You can rail on about the requirement that people "obey the rules," but the bottom line is that nature doesn't care. If you break certain rules, you will pay a certain price. If you have type 1 diabetes and you go on a drinking binge, you will end up in the ED and you may not survive. And if you have a heart transplant and you skip taking your medicine or whatever, you are less likely to survive.

You're welcome to break all the rules you want. Just don't think there won't be a price to pay. In the case of certain health issues, that price may well be your life.

And in the case of transplants, where there are more people in need of organs than there are organs, likelihood of compliance becomes a factor because the likely outcome is a factor in deciding who gets the organ.

The main problem I have is when they break rules for celebrities and 1%ers. I personally don't think Cheney should have been at the top of a list for a new heart. And there have been famous alcoholic celebrities who were given new livers. That bothers me, however much I may have liked their work.