February 21, 2013

Is the U.S. Clinically Insane?

By Deane Waldman
Insanity is often defined as doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.  The British National Health Service (NHS) has a history of such "insanity."  They maintain their healthcare system without change despite repeated episodes of preventable patient deaths.  So what does the U.S. do?  President Obama wants to emulate their system here.  Insanity! We start our story with the Bristol (England) Royal Infirmary, which enjoyed a reputation as a world-class surgery center for children with heart problems.  When someone began to question that reputation and asked for outcomes data, a cover-up started, just like Watergate. Patient results were fabricated.  Potential whistleblowers were intimidated.  There were public distortions and denials.  Eventually, the British government empaneled a "Commission" (their term for blue-ribbon panel), which released its Bristol Report in June 2001.   After confirming the...(Read Full Article)