New Oklahoma Laws Conflict with Oklahoma Patient Bill of Rights

[Lyric]

Taken directly from the Oklahoma Patient Bill of Rights:

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• You have the right to considerate and respectful care with recognition of your personal dignity.

The new bill directly injures the patient's dignity by permitting her doctors to LIE to her about her own health. There is nothing more injurious to the dignity of a woman than for her own government to permit her doctors to lie to her in an attempt to further their OWN political and religious agendas.

• You have the right to be well-informed about your illness, possible treatments, and likely out-come
and to discuss this information with your physician. You have the right to know the names and roles
of people treating you.

The new bill is an obvious violation of the patient's right to be WELL INFORMED. Women who are allowed to be LIED to are NOT "well informed".

• You have the right to request consultation with a specialist at your expense.

How can a woman who's carrying a malformed fetus seek a specialist's opinion when she doesn't even know that she IS carrying such a fetus? How can this right be honored in any meaningful way when it's possible for a doctor to LIE to her and WITHHOLD the fact that she NEEDS to see a specialist?!

• You have the right to consent to or to refuse a treatment, as permitted by law, throughout your hospital
stay. If you refuse a recommended treatment, you will receive other needed and available care.

There is no way to honor a "right to consent" if there is no legal requirement that women must be given TRUTHFUL information, so that they can be INFORMED. Without truthful, factual information, how is consent even POSSIBLE?

(snip)

• You have the right to review your medical records and to have the information explained, except when
restricted by law.

This right, in regards to pregnancy, is MEANINGLESS because "the law" has now decided that your doctor can lie to you. Therefore, your medical records will not be accurate and factual.

• You have the right to expect that the hospital will render necessary health services to the best of its
ability. Treatment, referral, or transfer may be recommended. If transfer is recommended or requested,
you will be informed of risks, benefits, and alternatives. You will not be transferred until the other
institution agrees to accept you.

Telling lies to women in order to further an agenda--lies that could KILL them--is NOT rendering health services to the best of ANYONE'S ability. Period.

• You have the right to know if this hospital has relationships with outside parties that may influence
your treatment and care. These relationships may be educational institutions, other health care
providers, or insurers.

I believe that relationships with CHURCHES should also be disclosed, as obviously these churches are affecting the treatment and care of women.

(snip)

• You have the right to be informed about hospital policies that affect you and your treatment and about
charges and payment methods.

Will the hospitals and doctors be informing women ahead of time that they are subject to be LIED to?

• You have the right to be informed about the outcomes of care, treatments, or procedures including
unanticipated outcomes, and when appropriate to also have your family informed.

The conflict with this particular right is so incredibly obvious that I don't even need to expound upon it.

• You have the right to an environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self image.

Being lied to is NOT preserving "dignity". Not even close.

(snip)

• You have the right to access, request amendment to, and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding
your own health information as permitted under applicable law.

The new bill does NOT protect the patient's right to have information about her health disclosed. In fact, it does the opposite--it permits doctors to deliberately REFUSE to disclose vital information about a woman's health.

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Bottom line--the Oklahoma Patient's Bill of Rights was law LONG before the new laws, and the two laws simply cannot co-exist because they contradict each other. I believe that in light of this irreconcilable conflict, Oklahoma should revoke and revise its Patient Bill of Rights, because in Oklahoma, pregnant women obviously DON'T COUNT.

http://jpmc.org/caffeine/uploads/files/PatientBillofRights.pdf

[AuntPatsy]

1. I don't believe that so many people in Ok are that ignorant, it would be

important to the future of that state as well as all of them to begin investigating its so called state officials just to see who is doing what and with whom and with who's backing....I refuse to believe that they can continue to deny equal rights, attack constitutional ones etc of the american people without the majority of those citizens backing them with both funds and or vocally...

Obviously, the control of the media's obvious rhetoric is a good place to begin the investigations of corporate intimidation toward it's employees while utilizing other investigators to begin the state and local avenues that are used to enact laws and or restrictions concerning the citizens of this country..

Again, the majority of citizens in all states I do not believe agree with the present actions of those that continue to fight to repress it's own citizens...

The tea-baggers are nothing more than a diversion being staged by obvious citizens with racial bigotry being their main reason in ignoring where the real outrage should be focused towards...they are such a small percentage, proof that the majority are rational clear thinking and intelligent citizens whom should be having their views taken seriously...the fact that they are being ignored is proof that an honest investigation for corruption in local and state level politics is for the moment simply not being taken seriously enough...

Who is friend, who is foe..without that simple knowledge I am afraid we are no closer to stopping them than we were eight years ago no matter how Green that grass might appear of late...

There are more of us than of them...so why are we still so unable to do anything other than express outrage using words and signs that continue to do nothing more than find themselves as if lingering in a silent sound proofed room until they do nothing more than fade away...

[KatyaR]

2. No, we're not that ignorant, just fucked up stupid.

The state legislature is full of idiots and morons. They tried to pass a law this year that allowed students to carry guns on Oklahoma college campuses. They succeeded in passing these two piece-of-crap bills, and now they're going to try to pass a law similar to Arizona's.

None of them are worth crap, and we're electing a new governor this fall, and ten to one it will be Repuke Mary Fallin.

If that happens, I imagine that within six months women will have to wear The Scarlet Letter if they've ever had sex--except for Saint Mary, who just had an affair with a Highway Patrolman on her protection team while she was Lt. Gov. But it's okay, 'cuz she's a good Kristian woman and all....

[ipfilter]

3. You're underestimating how red this state is.

Not one county in Oklahoma went to Obama...not one. This state is about 70% rabid rightwingers and us other 30% just learn to keep our mouths shut. This state is as red as a baboon's arse.

This state has huge budget shortfalls. Our schools are underfunded. Our roads have always sucked. We have high teenage pregnancy and high divorce rates. We lead the nation, or are high on the list, of almost every negative statistic. Instead of our legislature taking care of these real problems they are more concerned with putting the 10 Commandments on the capital lawn, passing ridiculous abortion bills, and concentrating on ham-fisted immigration laws. We don't avoid third rail politics here, we embrace them and make a sport of flaunting our stupid laws.

I really would like to move.