Excessive Commitment to Profits at the Expense of Patients

At the foundations of the profession, of course, is the Hippocratic Oath. That lofty oath says nothing about maximizing profit for shareholders. In fact, the injunction to "first do no harm" implicitly criticizes those who would base decisions about health care on factors that do not relate closely to medicine's healing mission.

Applying Ideals to Today's Reality

Is Hippocrates old hat in an age of managed care and for-profit medical providers? The answer to that question is: No!

To be sure, we live in a country committed to private enterprise. And it may no longer be reasonable to expect nonprofit organizations, such as hospitals run by church organizations, to play the role they once did.

But let's not deny the negative impact on patient care that cold-blooded management decisions made by hospitals and healthcare corporations can have. Many hospitals are constantly crunching the numbers, looking for ways to cut back on staffing. When there aren't enough doctors and nurses on staff to take care of patient safety, balls start getting dropped and patients get hurt. To continue reading; http://uspolitics.einnews.com