S01.E06: Ho-Ho-Hollo

[chitowngirl]

It's the holiday season at St. Denis; Alex and Ron care for a patient whose diagnosis is not what it seems; Joyce enlists Serena's help to boost St. Denis' online presence; Bruce and Matt help a Santa in need.
 

Airdate December 17, 2024

[AnimeMania]

Next New Episode: January 14, 2024 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I couldn't understand why Bruce and Matt didn't at least try to apply ice.  They were looking for shrinkage, weren't they?

I'm not convinced that ongoing fraud is a sufficiently serious crime to allow Ron to break patient confidentiality.  I believe the standard is "a patient poses a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of the patient or others and that the situation requires the disclosure of patient information to prevent or lessen the threat."  Now, if law enforcement suspected that the Go Fund Me was fraudulent and subpoenaed Ron, that would be an exception.  But of course, they would simply subpoena the patient's records, request the name of his oncologist, etc.

I actually thought that Alex had figured out a work-around to clue the family in when the daughter said she was going to the billing department. Maybe asking if all the oncology bills had been covered fully, or if the family had needed to chip in.  The daughter would have said that they must have been fully covered, and Alex would have said something about how unusual that was, and how the Explanation of Benefits would be very interesting to see.  Not something she would have said without knowing about the fraud, but not a blatant violation, either.

Or, she could have asked about the oncologist.  It's a little strange that the family was all gathered at the hospital, but that no one had accompanied the father to an oncology appointment.

And that's why you should never let a patient call you "Sweetie."

 

[iMonrey]

I think this was the first episode that actually made me laugh out loud. (And since we're already six episodes into the season, that's not a great sign.) Pretty much everything hit for me. 

Joyce running around trying to find a feel-good story only to keep hearing tragic things, and ultimately missing out on the kid hearing his mother's voice for the first time. "Son of a bitch!" 

14 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I couldn't understand why Bruce and Matt didn't at least try to apply ice.  They were looking for shrinkage, weren't they?

Yeah, I could think of a number of things. I still got a kick out of the story though. I've seen Scott MacArthur in tons of stuff. And David Paymer as Bob. They've been getting good guest stars on this show, I'll give them that.

[Chit Chat]

23 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I couldn't understand why Bruce and Matt didn't at least try to apply ice.  They were looking for shrinkage, weren't they?

I didn't understand that either.  Don't ER's have some kind of tool for this because sometimes they have to cut rings off of people's fingers (hand injury & hand is swelling.)   

Another option was to call a local jeweler.  They're used to cutting rings off of people's fingers (if you could find someone willing to cut it off of a pecker.)   😜

That high kick by Joyce is impressive!!  I'm really liking this show.  

[possibilities]

Two things I have no interest or affection for: Christmas and penises. Thus, this was not my favorite episode.

I agree the high kick was impressive, though.

 

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

I didn't understand that either.  Don't ER's have some kind of tool for this because sometimes they have to cut rings off of people's fingers (hand injury & hand is swelling.)   

They did say the ring cutter they normally used was broken, and the one the local fire department had also was broken.  Mind you, trying to use the giant bolt cutter, then the sword, was really stupid, like so stupid as to make the joke not work.  It's supposed to be a real hospital, so having them just be idiots isn't as funny as the writers think.   

Edited December 19 by txhorns79

[ItCouldBeWorse]

4 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

Another option was to call a local jeweler.  They're used to cutting rings off of people's fingers (if you could find someone willing to cut it off of a pecker.) 

Yes, I meant to suggest borrowing a tool from a jeweler.

[Harvey]

This episode had some really strong jokes with the penis ring storyline.

I was surprised when the cancer secret was not revealed in the end.

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

It's supposed to be a real hospital, so having them just be idiots isn't as funny as the writers think.   

I get your point but I still got a kick out of Bruce and Matt practicing on the hot dogs.

[Chit Chat]

14 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

They did say the ring cutter they normally used was broken, and the one the local fire department had also was broken.

Thanks!  I missed it when they said that!  I'm wondering if that scenario has actually been witnessed in an E.R.  I have a friend who was an EMT, and some of the stories she told me were wild!