Should we be wary of an entire bushel of apples when a scant few are bad? The reported (and sometimes purported) exploits of recent medical professionals such as Conrad Murray, Sandeep Kapoor, Khristine Eroshevich, among others might make us believe a startling trend is on the rise. These individuals are accused of acts which lead to the deaths of their high-profile patients; yet, thankfully, for every Conrad Murray, there are a thousand doctors who maintain a strong moral compass many years following the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath.
Why have these people gone astray? Money? Fame? A deity complex? Does their intelligence sometimes cloud their judgment, leading them to rationalize the copious, life-threatening amount of medications they prescribe to their patients? So, how can you be sure the doctor you’re seeing is seeing you on the level? Though it is just a starting point, Lady Justice recommends you digest some information contained in this article from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/health/30find.html
Good health to all of you as we forge ahead through this new decade.
I take no medications, save a daily 81 mg. aspirin, so i don’t have to
succumb to the whims of a doctor who
receives kickbacks from the pharmaceutical industries for his
unnecessary prescriptions. I truly am afraid of doctors…
GREED clouds their judgment. Just plain old capitalistic greed. Caveat Emptor! Buyer beware – especially of your MD.
[…] A former student, attorney Janice Brenman, has some thoughts (and a link) on what makes good doctors go bad. Exhibit 1: Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray. […]
With celebs like Anna Nicole and Michael Jackson just a few notable names among the LITANY of fallen stars, the judiciary needs to look harder at throwing the book at the enablers involved in cases like those w/ Conrad Murray and Howard K. Stern with Anna’s doctors. I am afraid that the fears of Charlie in the first comment will become more and more common and the homan race as a whole will suffer. A trend which impresses upon people a reluctance to seek medical attention is exponentially dangerous. Even if Anna was a gold-digger in life, perhaps the results of a criminal trial associated w/ her death can trigger a positive change in the courts and in the medical community.
I agree, but tend to think that the media attention given to this issue is an even more effective way for this all too common phenomena to meet a swift fate. as soon as the community realizes that there are swift consequences for thier actions, we will be in a much better position.
The best thing that could happen is for them all to be held criminally liable.