Have you heard about the Pelletier case?

[chlobo]

I think it's very difficult to judge the true situation when the hospital is required to keep things confidential. It also raises concerns to me that Boston Children's is not the first doctor or institution to be concerned about the parents' actions. None of us like to think about parents purposefully harming their children but we also know that it happens every single day. I don't know what the truth is; I'm sure there's far, far more we don't know about this situation than we do.

Where did it say that other institutions had raised concerns? I missed that part.

[boolady]

Where did it say that other institutions had raised concerns? I missed that part.

I'm on my phone, but about 2/3 in it says that their ped. in CT had concerns about dr. shopping and that Tufts staff (not Dr. Korson, her main doctor there at present) filed a complaint with CT child protection services which was ultimately dismissed. None of it is dispositive of anything, but to me, at least, confirms that this is a complicated situation about which I, as an outsider, know very little.

[vonfirmath]

Here is an article from Dec that talks about a number of families who were accused of medical neglect by Boston's Children's hospital. Very interesting. Obviously, you have to consider the source but interesting and scary none the less.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...amilies-again/

I've got friends with kids with mitochondrial diseases and they simply WON'T take their kids to Boston Children's Hospital after this particular hospital's track record. They also fear every time they have to change doctors that just this will happen and people will assume the hospitals are correct because "you never know" etc.

I also have another friend who lost her baby for nearly a year when she took him to a Seattle-area hospital to find out why the baby wasn't gaining as he should and got CPS called on her. I saw her worry and the succession of doctors she went to trying to get an answer so yes, I believe CPS was at fault in taking her baby and there isn't any "Secret" information we don't know that made it all justified.

[chlobo]

I'm on my phone, but about 2/3 in it says that their ped. in CT had concerns about dr. shopping and that Tufts staff (not Dr. Korson, her main doctor there at present) filed a complaint with CT child protection services which was ultimately dismissed. None of it is dispositive of anything, but to me, at least, confirms that this is a complicated situation about which I, as an outsider, know very little.

I would think that with a medically complicated child that "doctor shopping" is pretty common. I know people who have medically compromised kids who have been to many, many doctors, not because they want to but because the doctors they have seen have been unable to provide relief for their children. Does that mean their illnesses are made up? No, it means that their kids' problems are so complicated that its difficult to find a doctor who can actually help. `

[JBaxter]

I have a friend who it took 3 years to get her child diagnosed with Lymes. She's in PA and ended up in CT before finding someone to help the kid. I bet she "doctor shopped" at least 15 different doctors before she found one to treat her. 3 different doctors said it was psychosomatic. She ended up with a central line for IV antibiotics before getting better.

[arivecchi]

I've only read this one article, but I don't understand how the more junior attending physcian at Children's overruled the Tufts' team diagnosis without even talking to them. It does not seem professional at all to me. Is this common? Why not leverage the extensive knowledge and experience of the other hospital?

[zukeypur]

This is terrifying.

[arivecchi]

I'd also want to know, did the court hearing the custody matter hear from the Tufts team or just the Children's team? I would not assume that the court has the full story here given the way the Children's hospital seems to have behaved.

[StantonHyde]

I don't know how it works in their state but I can assure you that if this child was at the psychiatric hospital where I work, we would be getting zero dollars for her care at this point. And the profit margins in psych are, at best, 3% for a non profit, university affiliated hospital . And yes, all psych units are locked. The doors exiting the unit, not the patient rooms. And this child probably has off unit privileges which means she can go to the cafeteria and go outside with other kids to play. No it is not the same as being at home but it's not a prison either.
What I find interesting in all of these types if cases is that the family never signs a release of info for the hospital or mds to talk to the media or release records. They could but they don't. Because they only want their side of the story out????
I still say this is not the complete story.

[westwoodmom04]

I'd also want to know, did the court hearing the custody matter hear from the Tufts team or just the Children's team? I would not assume that the court has the full story here given the way the Children's hospital seems to have behaved.

It's been back and forth to the court multiple times over the past year, and even with all the publicity, the court continues to rule that the child should remain in protective custody, although she has been recently moved to a non-medical facility for foster care, which suggests her medical condition has indeed improved. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/02/2...o-foster-care/

One of the most preeminent children's hospitals in the country and the legal system of the state of Massachusetts versus a family that is trying to make this a conservative cause and has been reported "strange" by more than one hospital. I think there is a lot more to this than the familiy's version.