Why Is Doing the Right Thing Complicated?
Is there anything we could do to make it easier?
For the 1st time in history, doctors will finally get PAID to take patients OFF unnecessary medications...to “deprescribe” harmful pharmaceuticals. — Robert Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
How strange and troubling.
Why would it take a financial reward for doctors to do the right thing? Isn’t part of medical school training preparing doctors to “do no harm”. Is it that that doctors didn’t know they were harming people? If so, why didn’t they know? If they did know, why were they doing it?
One has to wonder how many people were physically and emotionally harmed by their actions? How many people were killed?
The same ethical dilemmas seem to be cropping up in many fields - from medicine to non-profits, law, and government. Some people seem to be doing whatever it takes to gain power and make money regardless of who is hurt in the process.
Ethically this seems to be a big problem.
Here are few of the other ethical dilemmas we discussed earlier on the blog:
lawyers refusing to represent citizens for fear of losing large city or corporate clients
organizations “holding” scientific data in what appears to be an attempt to avoid losing Federal contracts
situations where elected officials appear to be supporting donors with Future Fund handouts, low interest loans, and tax abatements
elected officials approving what appear to be unnecessary construction projects that benefit donors
companies hiring foreigners on work visas in what appears to be an attempt to suppress wages and transfer part of the food, housing, and medical costs from the employer to the taxpayers
highly profitable non-profits not paying tax (transferring the costs of the services they use to other taxpayers)
legislators, council members, and commissioners voting in favor of things that protect their investments, non-government jobs, or their employers
economic development organizations using taxpayer money to bring in low wage jobs that have a net negative impact of communities (increase taxpayer burden)
How we can make it easier for professionals and elected officials to make ethical decisions? And how can we reward them when they do?
South Dakota Voice Response: Rita, thanks for the heads up. Maybe someone should suggest a payout to the citizens. I think they were short on the overpriced prison building. Is it possible some of it will be allocated there? Maybe Rhoden is going to suggest some of it is used for parole rehab and rehabilitation in our prisons. No idea. Does anyone have any idea what the plans are for that money?
Email comment from RF: "Just heard today that SD has $325 million surplus! That is Ridiculous!"
Our society is too focused on money and has become greedy - just look at how so many politicians are bought by the billionaire class.
Part of the problem with the medical industry is that many patients see more than one doctor and the doctors don't always double check what else is prescribed or they are in too much of a hurry to check if there are any reactions with medications since each doctor often may focus on one ailment. Before you know it people (especially the elderly) are on several medications. My mom was acting really strange - having hallucinations, forgetfulness, sleeping a lot when I had my doctor check her med list and she was WAY over medicated. We took her off 4 (of her 12!) medications and she is a different person now, - back to what she used to be like.
If you have a loved one that seems off please have their medication list checked. My mom was on 5 different medications for the same problem! Apparently different doctors would try something else but no one removed the other medication first!