Rare Conditions and/or illnesses

[Just Plain Ruff]

I saw a patient who actually paid his entire hospital bill at least the part that insurance didn't cover. does that qualify for this thread?

[nick46928]

Yes, I would consider that rare enough to meet the criteria of this thread.

[Just Plain Ruff]

actually I had several patients who came in to our business office(this was a number of years ago) and paid their bill in full even before the insurance paid.

One said, she didn't think his transport should be paid by medicare since it was a simple hosptial to home run. She felt that medicare was for people who needed it. She paid 535 bucks in cash. A very honest and awesome woman. That woman was my Great aunt Louise. She died shortly after that.

[spenac]

actually I had several patients who came in to our business office(this was a number of years ago) and paid their bill in full even before the insurance paid.

One said, she didn't think his transport should be paid by medicare since it was a simple hosptial to home run. She felt that medicare was for people who needed it. She paid 535 bucks in cash. A very honest and awesome woman. That woman was my Great aunt Louise. She died shortly after that.

Wish we had more patients like your Aunt we could properly staff our service if everyone like her. Sorry for your loss.

[UMSTUDENT]

That brings up a good point that always bears reiteration.

So, as somebody else already said, don't get so caught up in rare conditions that you forget to play the statistics and look for the more likely causes.

As they say, "Look for horses before you go looking for zebras!"

[nick46928]

As they say, "Look for horses before you go looking for zebras!"

My purpose of this thread wasn't to gain knowledge of these rare illnesses so that I could identify them in the field, as most of the above mentioned illnesses require more advance diagnostic precedures than those that are at my disposal in the field. I agree that is in anyones interest to have a good understanding of the common before worrying about the rare. It is just out of curiosity that I asked the question so that I could pull information from everyones experience. Thank you to everyone that has added input thus far.

[chbare]

I agree that a strong emphasis on commonly encountered problems is paramount. On occasion, you find that zebra; however, I would bet most of the emergencies we treat and assess will be related to more mundane (commonly encountered) conditions. It all goes back to that whole Occam's Razor concept. Usually :oops:

Take care,

chbare.

[p3medic]

Dandy-Walker Syndrome (sp??) - I was in a small community at the time. I was able to spend a lot of time with this patient and learn a lot from her...unfortunatly as with all cases of this syndrome she passed away before age two. Wreaked me up a bit.

Chiari Malformation (my cousin currently seeking Tx. for it)

Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome

And many more, these three came to mind when I seen the thread title.

I had a kid with dandy walker a few years ago, apneic, unresponsive at home, complained of a headache to his mother, she went to get some tylenol, came back and found him down....for us he was a gcs 3, pupils fixed and dilated, thought his outcome was not going to be good. Turns out he did very well, had a blocked vp shunt, was extubated on day 5 and went home pretty much like he was before....interesting case.

[paramedicmike]

Tangent alert!!!

DUDE!!! P3!!! Where've you been? Everything alright?

Glad to see you back.

-be safe

[JeniF371]

amyloidosis Interesting and rare disease.

http://www.healthline.com/adamcontent/primary-amyloidosis

Jen