I agree with the two comments shown below. To those I would add "guidelines and metrics". We are held to these, in Cardiology and in other areas of medicine. We get dinged if we don't use whatever the standard is said to be, regardless of the individual patient's situation. We also don't adequately train our residents and fellows to apply common sense in such situations.
So, should it include tort reform ? Like stated many a times in this forum, we think aging and dying are options. And, the three main causes of malpractice are failure to diagnose, delay in treatment, failure to consult. We are programmed / mandated / expected to do something or else If the standard of care is dependent on where you are practicing, then, you see the snowball getting larger by the second.
The compulsion to “do something” is embedded deeply in the medical education process. This is an issue independent of financial incentive. The notion that to do less is of patient benefit is a hard sell in the procedurally based American medical system. To teach this point would require a major ethical overhaul in the collective mindset of academic leadership in this country. Sadly I don’t see that happening.
I agree with the two comments shown below. To those I would add "guidelines and metrics". We are held to these, in Cardiology and in other areas of medicine. We get dinged if we don't use whatever the standard is said to be, regardless of the individual patient's situation. We also don't adequately train our residents and fellows to apply common sense in such situations.
So, should it include tort reform ? Like stated many a times in this forum, we think aging and dying are options. And, the three main causes of malpractice are failure to diagnose, delay in treatment, failure to consult. We are programmed / mandated / expected to do something or else If the standard of care is dependent on where you are practicing, then, you see the snowball getting larger by the second.
The compulsion to “do something” is embedded deeply in the medical education process. This is an issue independent of financial incentive. The notion that to do less is of patient benefit is a hard sell in the procedurally based American medical system. To teach this point would require a major ethical overhaul in the collective mindset of academic leadership in this country. Sadly I don’t see that happening.