Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 08:58:21 -0400

From: Daved Muttart

Subject: Warnings

Interesting, but there is a serious problem with a requirement to give such advice. Doctors will have an incentive to avoid difficult cases in order to maintain their batting averages at an elevated level. Patients with slim chances will have difficulties in obtaining treatment. Wouldn't the Bristol doctors have had a tendency to unreasonably downplay the chances of success for patients with lower chances of success in order to dissuade them from undergoing the operation, even when the operation was the clearly indicated protocol?

And statistics don't tell the whole story. Did Kennedy's inquiry disclose the factors behind the poor stats of the Bristol doctors?

Daved Muttart

on 10/17/04 11:01 AM, michael furmston wrote:

It is not necessarily absurd to think that one result of the warning would be to have the operation done by somebody else. There was a major scandal in Bristol a few years ago because a group of doctors specialising in heart surgery for young children had statistically bad results and did not tell parents. There was not as far as I know any litigation but there were successful disciplinary proceedings and a long and complex public enquiry by Ian Kennedy. I think a surgeon ought now to know what his batting average is; whether it is above or below the mean and to advise accordingly.

Daved Muttart
http://www.interlog.com/~dmm

<<<< Previous Message  ~  Index  ~  Next Message >>>>>