Thursday, April 25, 2013

Triple negative

OK, this was in a dictation I read today:

"I do not feel it would not be contraindicated for the patient not to get coumadin."

Nice job with the triple negative. So, um, is it okay for the patient to get coumadin?

12 comments:

  1. What an enthusiastic endorsement. Quick drop everything and get this patient coumadin! The attending really, REALLY wants him to have it!

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  2. Why MDs should get degrees in English, not Chemistry. (Sorry those of you . . .)

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    1. I am a Chemistry major and I write with better grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and clarity than my friends in medical school who were English majors.

      Also I am a highschool dropout. If you didn't grasp the concept of communication by 8th grade, it is unlikely that another 8 years will help.

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  3. And if you count the "contra" in "contraindicated" it's basically a quadruple negative..

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. ...exactly what I was thinking...QUADRUPLE NEGATIVE !!!

      But the answer, after eliminating all the negatives, is that this patient is indicated to have Coumadin. So get on with it.

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  4. No seriously though...is it OK for the pt to get coumadin? Can someone break it down and explain why? Cuz I don't get it...

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  5. I guess I don't not understand what this guy wasn't trying to say.

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  6. So does he feel it is not not not contraindicated?

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  7. Yeah, I hope I never read orders like this. Yes to Coumadin? No to Coumadin? Hope the MD won't be mad when I give him a call.

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  8. Oh we've all totally done this, although maybe not so bad..
    "Given the history, it is not unlikely that the patient may have primary headaches, and as such, it would not be unnecessary not to scan the patient."
    That doesn't not make no sense to me... Yet I'm sure I've dictated something like that at least once :(

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