Re: GEN: The American Disease Metastasizes
From: Anna Meenan, MD (annam@uic.edu)
Fri Feb 13 11:35:32 2004
Wow, sounds like things are getting just as bad in Europe as they are
here. (Though apparently things are still just peachy in Australia).
Anna
At Fri, 13 Feb 2004, art fougner, md wrote:
>
>This letter is in this week's BMJ - very timely.
>
>Doctors are tending to be perceived as inherently bad
>EDITOR—In his editor's choice Smith describes how doctors are mangled by
>"justice."1 What's bad is bad, what's wrong is wrong, and wrongdoing has
>to be recognised and criminality punished. However, criminalisation of
>doctors seems to be the new way forward in society and increasingly in
>Europe.
>Daily in Italy media reports mention the neologism "malasanità" (the bad
>health service). Everything is perceived as unhealthy or as not
>providing rapid answers, and every death that is not "expected" is
>alleged to have been caused by bad doctors who are unable to work and
>are looking only for money. Such reporting is destroying the
>relationship between patients and doctors, especially where it needs to
>be strong—for example, in primary care.
>
>As a result, doctors will find it hard to maintain enthusiasm for their
>profession. A recent national survey in general practice showed that
>two out of three general practitioners are burnt out—and not only
>because of bureaucracy, paperwork, and pressure from health authorities
>to cut expenses and control their work. The low point is the
>progressive deterioration in general practitioners' relationships with
>patients, who don't trust doctors any more but are confrontational and
>litigious.
>
>The media continually encourage people to ask more and more and to
>criticise, implying that the law courts are the place to find real
>health. In this atmosphere the courts are pushed to see doctors as
>corrupt and bad.
>
>Defensive medicine is growing. It is rare and dangerous now for a
>doctor to take the initiative and be responsible for a lot of decisions,
>indications, small operations, and treatments that used to be the
>natural way of life of a good general practitioner.
>
>Francesco Carelli, national representative
>
>EURACT Council, Italian College of General Practitioners, 20123 Milan,
>Italy carfra@tin.it
>
>BMJ 2004;328:407 (14 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7436.407-a
>
>art
>
>--
>art fougner, md
>ich bin ein New Yorker
>
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