Regarding the argument that doctors aren't lawyers, and they were just listening to so called experts:
There was a popular article last week discussing how doctors were ignoring evidence and logic because so-called experts in their fields hadn't instructed them what to do yet. They refused to think for themselves.
The idea that a doctor only used this form because an expert told them to, and didn't think about it for even a minute, does not fill me with confidence. Why would this thought process be confined to one area?
"Why would this thought process be confined to one area?"
It's obviously not, you can find any number of books on Amazon about how the standard of care in virtually every area of medicine is horrifically awful. The one thing these books have in common is that virtually none of them are selling more than 10,000 copies, and of course number of physicians that actually read and take the time to read these books and understand them is only a small fraction of that. The vast majority of doctors can't even name a single recent finding in their own field, let alone the most important ones.
>Alex3917: The vast majority of doctors can't even name a single recent finding in their own field, let alone the most important ones.
I guess what you are saying is that it's important to support one's opinion with peer-reviewed research, rather than being overly reliant on personal experience.
A noble goal. I'm assuming that because this is important to you, you have done the same. Could you please cite your sources for the above statement?
Or is this an extremely clever way of proving the point that perhaps physicians really are justified in worrying about unfounded negative opinions on the internet?
BTW, if the issue of arbirarilly killed posts worries you, please upvote this submission: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2583101 (Ask pg: What's up with the randomly [dead] comments?)
I work in healthcare IT; specifically I am the IT Security Officer and HIPAA Security Officer for a health system. In that role I deal with technology, operations and compliance issues frequently. It has been my experience that most physicians care about learning more, but are overwhelmed with the expectations around changing regulations, adopting technology and new demands outside of medical knowledge being placed on them.
Healthcare is in an odd state right now. Technology is being adopted rapidly, regulations are being passed that change how medicine is practiced, patients are getting more involved in their care and the clinical staff is expected to be involved with this while continuing to improve patient care. Eventually all of this change will be for the better, but not everyone handles change well.
Most doctors don't give a damn. They just follow exact rigid procedure. If someone dies they can exonerate themselves in front of any medical review board that bothers to investigate. They can then send the patient off to the morgue and go play golf on the weekend. Happens all the time.
If a doctor reads a medical study, takes a risk, and the patient dies anyway then the medical review board will ask them to explain themselves and why they didn't follow procedure.
>narrator: "Most doctors don't give a damn. They just follow exact rigid procedure. If someone dies they can exonerate themselves in front of any medical review board that bothers to investigate. They can then send the patient off to the morgue and go play golf on the weekend. Happens all the time."
Physicians are required to provide treatment within the standard of care. I'm not sure if that's the "exact rigid procedure" that you are referring to, but I would note that this requirement is imposed by the legal system.
Also, it really makes me sad to hear that you think that doctors don't care about their patients that die. I am a physician, and I can tell you (anecdotally) that doctors I have known who lose patients don't take it lightly. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I would ask you to back up such a broad and accusatory statement with some evidence.
Perhaps you had a bad experience with a physician, but please don't generalize that to the entire profession. That's a ridiculous, inflammatory starting position.
Yea he was a bit crass there but the point is that patients die all the time and doctors will keep doing what they do. But being sued for malpractice is one of the most destructive things that can happen to a doctor's private practice and they will go to great lengths to avoid that.
It is wonderful that someone does. If doctors were as squeamish about death as I am, nobody would try to practice life-saving medicine at all and outcomes would be far worse.
It turns out that clinical treatment and medical research are two distinct activities, and patients appreciating not getting the one they did not expect.
Have you ever cared for someone who is chronically unwell, in pain, depressed? Take all the complexities of that relationship. Think about the days when you want to kill each other. Think about all the emotional ups and downs. Now have 10 relationships like this each day, every day.
There was a popular article last week discussing how doctors were ignoring evidence and logic because so-called experts in their fields hadn't instructed them what to do yet. They refused to think for themselves.
The idea that a doctor only used this form because an expert told them to, and didn't think about it for even a minute, does not fill me with confidence. Why would this thought process be confined to one area?
Link: http://www.cancer-healing.com/blaylock_brother.php