Medical healthcare historically was the image of caring and in some cases sacrificing everything possible for the patient. It was precisely mentioned by Indla et al., “when the Hippocratic oath was formulated, there existed only tripartite relationship in medicine: between the patient, physician, and illness. This Harmony was disrupted by the advent of health insurance, malpractice issues, technology, and pharmaceutical companies”. In the modern world, with the progressive growth of the economy and consuming society, it has become a simple custom. Physicians with a will to have a benefit break the limits of ethics and forget about their primeval purpose: to help and to treat a patient with no self-benefit.
Physicians use the legal ramifications of the current law to seek profit from patients. The Stark law codified in the United States Code, Title 42, Section 1395nn , prohibits physicians to refer Medicaid or Medicare patients to an entity for certain healthcare services if the physicians have a financial relationship with the entity. However, it is always possible to find a branch in a law that will allow one not to break it and satisfy one’s needs. Westwood proposed the doctors provide them with leased diagnostic equipment which means while having a session with a patient, the equipment itself “belongs” to a doctor. Any manipulation with equipment is not a referral, it is a part of one physician’s work. Still, patients should not be facing higher prices, lower quality, or unnecessary services due to physician’s self-interest. Staying legal with illegal intentions should be stopped, especially by doctors, that are supposed to think about the patient’s benefit the most.
In the everyday practice of the physician, basic rules of ethics should take a significant part. Working with people, especially treating them, takes much effort and energy because every human is an individual and needs a special approach. Physician work is concerned with constant giving and never waiting for the same back. Clinical ethical issues encourage personal, humane, compassionate, and fair interactions between doctor and patient. The case with Westwood and its lease agreements with physicians puts doctors’ interests in the first place which contradicts the ethical rules. Any physician should follow ethics to stay a human and a decent doctor.
Certain steps from the state should be done to prevent referrals of the patients to different scans. It can be easy to judge the doctors though they are part of the modern system. With setting a stable price for each type of scan (for instance, MRI or PET-CT) all over the state, there will not be any interest of the physicians in getting benefits. Blocking the path that leads to a profit will stop any actions of the human to search for other ones. Another way to solve the issue would be radical but helpful. A public health system will prevent any agreements of physicians with the companies and help make healthcare free, with easy access for everyone. Public health is not always an example of high quality and modern equipment, but this radical movement will solve the issues of benefits of doctors from referrals.
To conclude, it is important to mention that physicians need to place the benefit of the patients before their own. No matter how hard this can be, medicine is a choice of life, and it requires special behavior and way of life. According to Dang et al., patient-centered care is an important contributor to a positive patient care experience. Following rules of ethics together with governmental restrictions can help provide better medical help to society.
References
Indla V, Radhika MS. Hippocratic oath: Losing relevance in today’s world? Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(4):773-775.
Office of the law revision counsel. United States Code. Web.
Collins AJ JD, Clark K, George A. Stark future for the Stark law? Home Healthcare Now. 2018;36(6):393. Web.
Siegler M. Clinical medical ethics: Its history and contributions to American medicine. The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 2019;30(1):17-26.
Dang BN, Westbrook RA, Njue SM, Giordano TP. Building trust and rapport early in the new doctor-patient relationship: A longitudinal qualitative study.BMC Medical Education. 2017;17(1):1-10. Web.