Quote:
Originally Posted by Skybird
+1
The problem also lies in the commercialisation of health care. When the mother of my father died, it was clear where her road ahead would lead her when she was in hospital, and everybody knew she would never leave it again. Still, they ran an awful lot of procedures and diagnostics on her, many of them making her suffer more than was inevitable anyway due to her health status - not because they could get info from these to change her fate for the better, but because it generated income for the hospital. They milked coins out of her until she was dead. Not metaphorically spoken - but literally. My uncle was the one being in place and deciding - and he just did not know enough about all this, trusted them doctors.
When you make health care an investment option for shareholders and profits must be created to pay out these shareholders - guess who looses. The money gets taken form somewhere, it does not rain down from heaven. Somebody's gotta pay the bill. When years ago I still held stocks, I carefully had excluded health care providers and insurers.
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I never really thought about these things or situations this way. These situations are difficult enough for the respective families without even considering the financial ramifications that drive the nursing home and Hospice Care Units and their financial bottom lines. Emotions are always running high for the patients, families and friends during these times and we never consider this is essentially a business. When we are dealing with a family member or friend in the end stages of their lives, we of course want the very best for them. Some Hospice units are of course better than others in dealing with this issues and balancing the needs of the family, patient and care unit.
Thanks Sky for pointing that out.
