Visiting the Psych Ward

rydys

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:36 pm

Actually, Motek, it is very difficult to get insurance companies to cover psych visits. I've had to send several kids home from the ER bec. their insurance wouldn't cover inpatient care--not only that, many of them limit the outpatient visits, too! Imagine if your insurance said you can only take your kid to the doctor 10 times a year--what if he's sick more often? I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I'm sure you are missing out on the big picture in regards to these women. Most people on psych wards want out and the doctors have to work very hard to keep them there as long as necessary. A large factor of many mental illnesses is denial. people with schizophrenia can do very well on medication, but part of their illness is that when they are "stable" on their meds, they cannot recognize that they need the medication so they stop taking it, then relapse. You are hearing only one side of the story from these women, not the side of their doctors and family.

Motek

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:44 pm

Quote:

it is very difficult to get insurance companies to cover psych visits.

what do you mean by psych "visits"?

these women are hospitalized

and the little I know about them, I think one still needs to there, the other one not

of course insurance companies are tough and ridiculous too sometimes, no disagreement there!

it just makes it much harder for hospitals to stay open, and sometimes they just close down because they can't cover their expenses and be profitable

Quote:

the doctors have to work very hard to keep them there as long as necessary.

what makes it so hard? anything besides the fact that the people want to leave?

rydys

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 9:24 pm

I actually meant hard in terms of justifying to the insurance company why they should pay for one more day. many psych patients can put on a good show for a while and when the insurance inspectors come around (which they do!) the patient looks fine so they don't want to pay for more care, but as soon as they leave the person falls apart and clearly needs to be there.

This is a problem in all fields of medicine, but psych is harder to quantify. Where I work there is a special person hired for each unit whose job is solely to justify to the insurance companies why the patient is there. Every day we go over each patient with her and she helps us with our documentation bec. in medicine (or peds) it is more clear cut. if a patient still needs an IV, they still need to be there, end of story. In psych it is harder--what if the person is mostly OK, but in the psychiatrists opinion when they return to the stresses of regular life will not be able to handle it and will relapse, but in 2 days will be ok? How do you quantify that?

hadasa

Wed, Dec 15 2004, 3:36 am

rydys wrote:

A large factor of many mental illnesses is denial. people with schizophrenia can do very well on medication, but part of their illness is that when they are "stable" on their meds, they cannot recognize that they need the medication so they stop taking it, then relapse.

That's exactly what happened with my friend's husband.

hadasa

Wed, Dec 15 2004, 3:23 pm

Actually, yes. He tried to commit suicide while they were engaged, and that's how they found out, and he was put on medication. And although everyone, inluding friends, family and aquaintances tried to convince her to break it off, she insisted on going through with the wedding. She was very young, about 18, and very independant minded, and I guess she didn't really absorb all the ramifications everyone was trying to warn her about.
Then, about a year and a half after they were married, he stopped taking his medication, and slowly became more and more paranoid, to the point where he suspected everyone around him (including my husband and myself) of being a secret agent and plotting to kill him and his family. It took a while till she realized what was happening, and finally, with the help of friends, got him to a psychiatric hospital, where he spent two months, and then another few months at home until he was back to normal.
There was another point where he again stopped taking his medication, but by threatening him with divorce, she convinced him to go back on it. She feels that he is her Basherte husband and that she has to deal with him the best she can as long as she is able. I'm very impressed with her inner strength.
For the past two years things have been B"H more or less stable, and I hope they will remain that way.

Pickle Lady

Wed, Dec 15 2004, 4:15 pm

I think that a hospital knows when a person has a good insurance and they can more easily keep them in the hospital especially since its not easy to quantify. I saw a rehab center try to keep my mom there, when she was recovering from surgery even though she needed to be back at the hospital. The rehab center tried convincing our family that she needed to stay at the rehab center, it was very frustrating. So have a feeling there is some truth to what motek is saying about them keeping the paitient because they want to keep the beds full. But I doubt motek knows the whole situation because people can easily look like they are ok when they are not. People who are suicidel don't have stamp on their forehead.

amother

Wed, Feb 09 2005, 10:18 am

My husband has been in the psychiatric ward several times.

Sometimes he'll tell me that he wants to check in for a while, sort of a vacation under supervision... With all of the stories he has told me over time, though, I don't want to let him go. B"H he doesn't need it.

Yes, it can be medically necessary to be there, but the atmosphere sometimes exacerbates the problems.

--

Incidentally, the medicine issue is a very big deal. There is a book "Toxic Psychiatry" that makes the case that medication is more harmful than helpful, but most doctors see it in the category of insulin, correcting a chronic chemical imbalance.

The side effects are many and harmful, but what can we do? Mania and depression are not just dangerous, they are painful.

shayna

Wed, Feb 09 2005, 10:40 am

It is very sad when anyone needs or has been misdiagnosed and placed there. In there they may be treated badly and in most cases they are not taken care of b/c they are looked at as "crazy or mental". and the regular staff not the doctors but the orderly are not getting paid well and did not take the job b/c they care or want to make a difference in someones life. I think it must be a very hard decision to pace anyone I know in such a place. And whether they are frum ,jewish or not I feel bad that any human being has to suffer in such a "prison". Worse then a prison people in prison actually get to go outside. Sad

amother

Wed, Feb 09 2005, 12:25 pm

I have a child who is currently in a psychiatric ward. Although we give her Jewish books, she is getting no Jewish education there and she has no Shabbos. I am not sure she really needs to be there(she is not schizophrenic , does not have depression problems or drug problems.). but I do not know what to do with her when she gets out-there is no school here that would accept her.

amother

Thu, Feb 10 2005, 2:51 am

My daughter is there because of some things that happened to her in the past which caused behavior and sleeping difficulties. She needs the counseling but I do not like her on medications-which don't seem to do her any good. The place is very strict about visitors - so it is hard to get permission for anyone to see her.

Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have posted about my daughter but I miss her a lot. She has been away for several months and I don't know when she's getting out .

amother

Thu, Feb 10 2005, 9:11 am

Amother, that's so sad!

How old is your daughter?

If she needs the counselling, you may want to consider outpatient therapy, where you're basically only in the hospital during the day, giving her a chance to have a somewhat normal life at home.

It took my husband (bipolar) over 5 years (before marriage) to reach the point where he can now be happily married, but it was worth it, for both of us.

Here's a big hug from me (((( )))) - you deserve it.

Motek

Thu, Feb 10 2005, 11:23 am

it sounds awful, sorry I didn't write that earlier

it sure sounds mighty strange though, as though we're missing a lot of information, because since when are children (how old?) put away for behavior and sleep difficulties? Confused