LETTER
Managed Care Ethics
Michael Katzoff, MD
15 October 1998 | Volume 129 Issue 8 | Page 674
TO THE EDITOR:
Hall and Berenson [1] propose that "devotion to the best medical interests of each individual patient be replaced with an ethic of devotion to the best medical interests of the group" and imply that it is ethical to "compromise optimal treatment of one patient in order to do more good for other patients." I respectfully submit that this approach is naive. Physicians should not delude themselves into thinking that they are capable of judging and choosing the patients on whom they may skimp care. I know of no physician who treats a group of patients rather than one patient at a time. Physicians do not keep a running tally of expenditures, nor do they wish to track which patient belongs to which managed care entity. I fear that the article attempts to create a new ethic for the managed care industry but in reality justifies the compromise of patient care as it undermines the trust and loyalty that the physician owes to each and every patient.
|
Author and Article Information
|
|---|
St. Lukes Medical Center; Milwaukee, WI 53215
1. Hall MA, Berenson RA. Ethical practice in managed care: a dose of realism. Ann Intern Med. 1998; 128:395-402.
About Letters
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
Top
Author & Article Info
References
Article
