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Blood Clots Treatment Dissatisfaction

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“While extremely effective at treating blood clots (VTE), blood thinner medications are not without side effects, which can be quite serious.”

I developed a blood clot in 1994 several weeks after I began my first course of induction chemotherapy for the treatment of my cancer, multiple myeloma (MM). I could have been one of the respondents to the online survey discussed below.

During my therapy and for the rest of 1994 and 1995, I was “satisfied” with my care provider. Unfortunately, I developed a blood clot in the other leg about 2 years later. Further, after learning more about long-term anti-coagulant therapy, I learned that taking blood thinners for years brought real risks of side effects such as brain aneurysms and internal bleeding in general.

Being a guy in his late thirties at the time, I decided to stop my VTE medication. The non-toxic therapies that I now take have resolved my second blood clot and I have been healthy (no blood clots) since the mid-ninties.

My point is, VTE patients undergoing blood thinning therapy for their blood clot don’t know what they don’t know. Patients assume, like I did, if their doctor was prescribing a medication, that medication was safe, effective and did not have an alternative therapy to consider.

All three of these assumptions where incorrect. If you have any questions about your VTE aka blood clot, scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.

Learn More About Blood Clots aka Deep Vein Thromboses- click now

Hang in there,

David Emerson

  • MM Survivor
  • MM Cancer Coach
  • Director PeopleBeatingCancer

Recommended Reading:


Managing the Side Effects of DVT Treatment

“Blood thinners are typically used to treat deep vein thrombosis, but they are not without side effects.

  • DVT Treatment: Risk of Bleeding
  • DVT Treatment: Other Side Effects
  • DVT Treatment Side Effects: When to Seek Emergency Care

Patient Satisfaction With Venous Thromboembolism Treatment

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) represents a major health-care problem. Understanding patient satisfaction with VTE care is an important health-care goal. A national online survey was administered to adults who had experienced a recent VTE event.

The survey assessed patient satisfaction by:

  • satisfaction with VTE care provider;
  • likelihood to recommend VTE provider; and
  • satisfaction with communication between VTE care providers.

Each question was correlated with patient demographics, patient care harms (ie, misdiagnosis, wrong treatment), patient beliefs concerning outcomes, and type of anticoagulant therapy.

Most respondents were satisfied with VTE care providers, likely to recommend their VTE provider, and satisfied with communication between providers.

Dissatisfaction was strongly associated with treatment mistakes, a wrong diagnosis or treatment, or delayed treatment.

A national sample of VTE patients were generally satisfied with VTE care experiences. The VTE care dissatisfaction was strongly associated with perceived mistakes in VTE care. Interventions aimed at reducing, acknowledging, and communicating errors could be studied to improve VTE care satisfaction.

This study shows that most patients with a recent VTE episode who responded to an online survey were at least moderately satisfied with the care they received from the provider primarily responsible for their VTE care and are likely to recommend this provider to others…”

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