healthy4u: physician dishonesty

The face of postmodern medicine: lying

The face of postmodern medicine, where what is moral is context-sensitive, and outright clinical fabrications about "illness" (a.k.a lies) are fair game. I don't remember anything like this in the Oath of Hippocrates: <blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism">Postmodernism</a> is a movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. More specifically it is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. It involves the belief that many, if not all, apparent realities are only social constructs, as they are subject to change inherent to time and place.</blockquote> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ipqEzJpeqis"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575608602360929682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWvVMZEaxwAR2KTxSMo5Kicpa_imLxaNLSTDIF_2FwgESWDcBxps3Jw83eS-2VUet5MJlWDIoUoMFHJH_adK8x0R0Ef8OP4ImU_Cqg-4p4FHn-j4lHh0poFlOClU_ddCs2syHQ-cF0HF8/s320/dr_lie.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 141px;" /></a>Lying with a smile. This alleged physician seems to have no qualms with lying, in writing medical "out sick notes" for political purposes. Click to play video. </div> If this person is truly a physician, I cannot condone such behavior, that is, lying about clinical matters to suit one's own agenda, whatever that agenda might be. I saw too much of that when I worked for the regional transit authority's medical department in a large city. Community physicians lied about injuries to support continued, fraudulent "therapy" (from which the physician - and the involved attorney - profited), and to support continued receipt of worker's compensation by the employees. Example: months of treatment for back "strain and sprain and myofasciitis" from a 30,000-lb bus (excluding passengers!) being rear ended by a 3,000 pound car at minor fender-bender speeds. This was not uncommon. Defying known laws of physics, the force from the impact somehow traveled the considerable length of the bus, took a 90 degree turn up into the driver's air spring-cushioned seat, and strained their back. Many of these folks failed the typical exams used to detect fakery. Example: elevating their legs to 90 degrees while sitting to remove their shoes, at which time they'd have no complaints, but then screaming loudly of back pain when in the same relative position, but supine. <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6fHFFB84B4EBl4pEsWiUQ2ngnHvsl3KQDEyU0WNlPvEWk7ptzm0BZo2YuRB_snj0jkVk6OAprBm9Eje9RBWS9-cMRT0RP_ZUyXcYKZIc4IJuaURtnGLeejXb_OVNHR6xP0EvD87qFJRg/s1600/backpain.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575619449541333218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6fHFFB84B4EBl4pEsWiUQ2ngnHvsl3KQDEyU0WNlPvEWk7ptzm0BZo2YuRB_snj0jkVk6OAprBm9Eje9RBWS9-cMRT0RP_ZUyXcYKZIc4IJuaURtnGLeejXb_OVNHR6xP0EvD87qFJRg/s320/backpain.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 262px;" /></a>Click to enlarge. A maneuver to detect exaggerated response for back pain. Somehow, the dishonest "injury clinic" docs certifying these folks as "disabled" never seemed to perform this test. All in the patient's best interest, of course... </div> Often, passengers on the bus would go to the same type of doctors with the same claims of injury. Sometimes as well, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=NjjnfWxLE8sC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=septa+injury+fraud&source=bl&ots=JEYkYJGk1T&sig=tUM4jQiZHLLC5athUBLN7STuqB4&hl=en&ei=opdgTY7xIYKclgfg0LCwDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=septa%20injury%20fraud&f=false">there would be more people claiming injury than people on the vehicle </a>known as "ghostriders" (as opposed to ghostwriters, a frequent topic on this blog). The dishonest community physicians would certify them "injured" nonetheless. And you wonder why your bus fare is several dollars... Ultimately, physician dishonesty-on-an-agenda leads to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_syphilis_experiment">medical slippery slope</a> that, as history proves, is not a path the profession wants to emulate. One wonders what other lies physicians with attitudes like this proffer. <a href="http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2011/02/does-emr-facilitated-upcoding-formely_15.html">Lies in their billing</a>, perhaps, to "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man">stick it to the Man</a>?" -- SS Addendum Feb. 27, 2011: Along comes this story at AOL news: <a href="http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/27/horrific-us-medical-experiments-come-to-light/">"Horrific US Medical Experiments Come to Light</a>." It seems the medical slippery slopes of the not-too-distant-past, as recent as the 1960's, were more slippery than most knew. -- SS

The face of postmodern medicine: lying

The face of postmodern medicine, where what is moral is context-sensitive, and outright clinical fabrications about "illness" (a.k.a lies) are fair game.I don't remember anything like this in the Oath…

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19 Feb 2011