November 15, 2013

Medical Ethics and Obamacare

By Deane Waldman
I am hoping someone can help me with a conundrum. I do not see how a physician can work under (frankly "for") Obamacare and remain true to accepted principles of medical ethics. Every doctor who graduates a U.S. medical school swears the Hippocratic Oath, either the original or a modernized version written by Dr. Louis Lasagna in 1964. (Don't laugh at his name. He was a widely respected medical doctor and ethicist.) While semanticists and lawyers quibble about the precise meaning of the words, real-world doctors understand the Oath's "prime directive." We swear that the best interest of our individual patient comes before all other matters: personal gain or comfort, complying with rules and regulations, and even the best interests of other patients. As an ethical doctor, my commitment and first responsibility is to do whatever it takes to help the patient before me. The only constraint to that commitment is that we will not actively harm another person in the process. Thus, I would...(Read Full Article)