that's bizarre. And they charge you for it?
I don't know about charging, but the ER really does have to perform a pregnancy test every time. Mostly, it's because of liability. If someone says they're not pregnant -- whether they really believe that or they're lying for whatever reason -- and then they're prescribed a teratogenic drug that harms the fetus, the hospital is FUCKED, legally.
Sadly, a lot of patients to the ER lie about not being pregnant when they really are. Some are women who come in with parents/spouses/SOs and the women don't want their parent/spouse/SO to know they're pregnant, so they lie. Other women really don't know any better and think that if they admit that they're pregnant, they won't get treatment.
And other women show up at the ER because they're trying to get narcotics for a fix, and no doctor will prescribe percocet to a pregnant woman, so in that situation, the woman lies in an attempt to get her fix.
I'm not trying to be snarky or jaded or Republican about this; I have a close friend who's an ER doctor at the university hospital in town, and he said it's just the sad truth about working in an ER in a time in this country when so many people don't have health insurance that they use the ER as their only source of healthcare, even for things like a cold.
I'm not trying to be snarky or jaded or Republican about this; I have a close friend who's an ER doctor at the university hospital in town, and he said it's just the sad truth about working in an ER in a time in this country when so many people don't have health insurance that they use the ER as their only source of healthcare, even for things like a cold.
This I do know. And I know why they have to do it and I understand, and usually just laugh it off. It's just weird on the other hand to be asked, yet so blatantly not trusted. I guess, in some ways, I wish that they just wouldn't ask...that they'd just say, "We have to run a pregnancy test." And this was the first time I'd had it happen since I got the IUD, so it was even a bit more striking, I guess.
maybe I got a pregnancy test when I was admitted to the hospital and I didn't know it.
the ER really does have to perform a pregnancy test every time
They may have to, but in this neck of the woods they thankfully don't. There were a couple of weeks here or there where they wanted one, but let's just call my kidneys efficient. Could easily tack a few hours onto the front end of each visit, waiting for me to pony up. It's been under 10% of the times they've tested me (and under 50% of the time they've asked about my last period) before what was always going to be narcotics.
Would someone please tell my brain that it's sleepy-time?
I'm watching Anchors Aweigh now. This is a very weird movie.
Is that the one where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse?
It also has Dean Stockwell, age six or so. He ran away from home to join the Navy.
So. Many. Orphans in literature.
From a narrative point of view you have to get the parents out of the way for the kids to have any agency. It's not anti-parent, it's pro-story. Nobody wants to read about your stinkin' happy childhood.
Back from two days in Sunnyvale where Emmett's tournament team went 4-0. Which sounds more impressive than it was since we were in an 11-and-under tournament and played two 10 y.o. teams (and crushed their wee little spirits with slaughter rule wins).
Emmett made some very nice plays at catcher and he made it all the way to the fourth game before a pitcher got him out. He had a lot of walks and when they threw him strikes he got hits.
To put the capper on the baseball weekend the A's swept the Red Sox (ha ha - I'm very bitter about the invasion of the Red Sox fans at the Coliseum every time the Bloody Hose come to town).
I'm going to ignore Teppy going to the land of Lolcats. She's clearly going through a year of radical reassment and testing (non-Blonde! SinLiving!) and is bound to make some egregious errors in judgment from time to time.
