If a person has no money or insurance but is clearly dying, and the nurses, doctors, and hospital refuses to treat the person, and the patient dies, should these people (1) lose their licenses and (2) be charged with homicide, or negligence (3) should the hospital lose its funding.
Or should we consider a doctor or hospital like any other business? Should hospitals and doctors follow the "we're here to make money and you need to pay to get service" attitude?
This is what happened at M.L.K. hospital in Los Angeles.
Isn't medicine primarily about saving lives? What do you think?
perfectmom88
I am not even sure a hospital or doctor can refuse to treat a dying person but I don't know for sure. To me, its highly unethical and something should be done about it, even exposing it to the media so people know what is going on, at the very least. I am sure much more than this can be done about it. Seek a lawyer!
fuzzybionicle
I personally think the hospital nurses should be sued in court if they do not treat a person in the ER. Especially if they clean up around the person. But, of course, that's just me.
Tina G
It is illegal to refuse treatment based on the ability to pay.
Now, if they saw the person, determined that the person was too end stage to provide treatment, then they can send them home. It's not right, but there are a lot of agencies out there to help in this situation.
Before you do anything you will regret, I would take some time to think about it. I took care of my grandmother for 7 years before she died, and I hated the doctors that thought she was too old to treat. Because of insurance Hospice quit her on April 16 because she wasn't close enough to dead, and she died on May 5. You think I didn't want to sue everyone? But, after some time has passed it is easier to see that only God knows when and how, these are just people like you and I trying to do the best job they can.
Yomi Minamino
I think the doctor or nurses who were right there should have their licenses taken away and get into trouble for what they didn't do. The hospital should get into trouble if it happens more then once.
They can't really be charged with homicide as they didn't cause it, but negligence as they have the power to heal but don't care.
To many hospitals are only there for a profit, for example a doctor I have to see had been charging me $ 75 for a visit, but the minute I got insurance they were charging $ 300, now they were still making money off of the $ 75 and making a god profit as I saw the doctor for maybe a few minutes and there were many many other people, yet then they bosted the price as soon as they could. They're only out for the profit now a days, not for the care of the people.
Police officers and fire fighters who aren't on duty and make far far less jump into the middle of something and help when it isn't even their job at the moment, but doctors hardly ever do.
Susie D
You were at MLK hospital when the incident happened? I mean this is the only way you can clearly say what happend and not just what you read in the paper.
I can only speak to what I have read - and that is that MLK hospital has a history of problems, and from the sounds of it has no real business being open to begin with.
Medicine IS about saving lives - and I refuse to defend or speak to what happened at MLK because I was not there - but the bottom line is the people who in health care are people and they are people who are working in some seriously bad conditions in many places. They are working without enough staff to provide adequate care, in settings without enough beds/ supplies to accomodate the numbers of people they see, and as soon as something happens every damn one of us becomes "subject" to scrutiny.
What happened was a tragedy - but do NOT generalize about the men and women who are working their asses off everyday and doing a good job! Medicine is about saving lives and that is what most of us do - one bad thing does not negate all the good that is done. Treat this like the isolated incident it is.
Orignal From: Tips: What should happen if a hospital or doctor refuses to treat a dying person?
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