WHO WOULD have thought that the event on Sept. 11, 2001 would happen to the United States of America and at its forefront, New York? The United States, known for the FBI and the CIA, seems to have lost its reputation as a symbol of power and strength.
After a year of the Sept. 11 attack, there is no clear-cut victory for them. They may have launched a world-wide war on terrorism, but Bin Laden, the man believed to be behind the attacks, is still free.
Recently, the US lost in a game they were thought to be the world standard. With the NBA players playing for the them in international competitions, they were thought to be indestructible. But the recent lost in the World Basketball Championships of the so-called USA Dream Team proves that Americans are mere mortals. Some say they were outcoached. Others say the team never had teamwork. But only one thing strikes a basketball fan. The Dream Team lost.
In both cases, the US showed it is no longer invincible, as they are thought to be.
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We are living in a society of distrust and disbelief. Tax payers don’t trust the government while the government go after tax evaders.
But more than distrust and disbelief, the Medical Malpractice Bill (House Bill 4955) is an insult to the medical profession. More than the professional relationship of the medical practitioners and the patients, there is personal interaction between them. Every medical consultation is delving into a patient’s medical history and the trust between the patient and a doctor is essential. And this trust is build through regular consultation through the years.
The bill presumes negligence on the part of medical professionals in their commitment to the patients’ welfare. It considers failure of the medical practitioner to cure a patient a medical malpractice even if correct and standard medical procedure is observed.
No doctor performing any medical procedure from a simple headache to a complex surgery is unaware that his purpose is to cure the patient. If something happens other than expected, the medical practitioners should not be blamed. There are conditions beyond the capability of medicine. And if indeed malpractice is committed, there is already the Medical Act of 1959 to provide redress for the victims.
As a paramedical student, I think the proposed law will make medical procedures for simple cases more complicated. Instead of readily giving diagnosis to simple cases, more confirmatory tests should be made to back up the diagnosis and as we all know, these can be expensive.
It boils down to the competence of medical professionals. There may be cases of medical malpractice, but the solution is not making every competent medical professionals suffer the negligence of some. There is no room for error in the medical profession because error is not in any way in the intention of the medical professional.
And malpractice is really a result of negligence and not of a good intention that failed.
