Life in the
Psychiatric Hospital
Living in a
psychiatric facility can have a positive therapeutic experience or a very traumatic effect
on the patient who is having the experience. This also applies to the family members of
the patient .
The way the family reacts to the patients commitment varies between patients. It is
not uncommon for the family of the patient to use the baker act as a way of "getting
rid" of the patient because the patient has become so disruptive to the family
element. In this case the family members usually feign interest in the patient’s best
interests, but this false care is obvious to the trained observer.
The problem with this is the same problem all throughout the psychiatric field. That
is, even though one can see what is obviously the truth , the way the system is set up,
there is absolutely nothing anyone, who has the true best interests of the patient in
mind, can do about it. The only thing the mental health employee can do is "go
through the motions". This is the only option that the law and facility procedure has
permitted. This concept of doing what looks the best on paper instead of what is in the
true best interest of the patient is what I am dedicating this website to.
When one gets committed to a psychiatric facility you would suppose that it is the
patient who is being treated. In fact, the concentration of energies that is devoted from
the nurses, DR’s, and other mental health professional’s is toward the patients
chart.
The Chart
The patient's chart has all of the pertinent information on the patient. It contains
information concerning past medical histories, psychological profiles, a plan for
treatment, current psychiatric diagnosis, daily progress notes, including daily vital
signs, the medications that are being taken by the patient and much more.
In recent times, these charts are becoming more and more computerized. Logging all of
this pertinent information concerning the patient can be a rather time consuming process.
But in fact, these charts are what is scrutinized by the insurance companies and therefor
determine whether the claim will be paid or not. These claims are what support the
hospitals. So if these charts are not kept up to required specifications, the hospital
doesn’t get paid. This is basically why the chart gets more attention than the
patient does. Cost cutting is also an issue in hospitals whether they are for profit or
non-profit hospitals. This is another reason many patients don't get much needed
attention. In reality even non-profit hospitals are in the business to make money. To have
the title of being a non-profit hospital, it must take patients that do not have
insurance. This charitable title does not prevent the hospital from destroying the
uninsured patients credit if he fails to pay the hospital bills.
By now you’re probably wondering , how much attention does each patient get, and
does he have anything to gain by being committed to a
psychiatric hospital?
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