Word: patients
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...fall Dr. Michael Saviano was roused from his sickbed by the San Francisco Opera to tend a singer whose voice was giving out. His verdict: finish the performance but sing at half power. His backstage visit concluded, a feverish and bleary Saviano headed for the hospital to await his patient -- and a reassuring once-over of those valuable vocal cords...
...family practitioners, gynecologists and pediatricians in 125 market areas six oversize glossy magazines that emphasize family, health, sports, life-style, personalities and fiction. The quarterly magazines will contain 30 full ad pages each and only 27 minutes' worth of editorial material, geared to the average time a patient spends in a doctor's waiting room. Each month a Whittle representative will visit subscribing waiting rooms to restock a specially designed wooden display rack (which is furnished by Whittle) with fresh copies...
What about an individual's freedom of choice? Most doctors believe that a patient under great pain should not have power over his own life, but that the choice should be left up to the doctor and the family instead. Under this theory, the resident in Debbie's case overstepped the bounds of his responsibilities as a physician. Debbie's ambiguous statement, "Let's get this over with," may not have meant that she wished to die but instead could have referred to a different treatment...
...consideration of equal importance in life-and-death decisions has to be the patient's quality of life. Will a few more hours, days, or even months of mere existence in either pain or complete unconsciousness really add to the life of the patient or his family? Some may be horrified at this attitude. Some even think that making such judgements is akin to playing God. But we have moved toward God-hood by prolonging life by artificial means--should we therefore stop using respirators, mechanical hearts and lungs, and kidney machines? Advances in medical science have brought with them...
...question of whether to end life should not have been dealt with in the hasty way that Debbie's resident did. A doctor's first priority (remember the Hippocratic oath) is always to save life--the problem is in defining what life is and whether a patient has any choice in ending it. The AMA must take a stand and establish a clear definition of life, and under what circumstances a physician can withhold life-prolonging treatment. Unless such guidelines are laid down, a tragic occurrence such as Debbie's induced death may again occur through the efforts of other...