President Obama tonight also made a reference to the lies being told about the creation of "death panels," as Sarah Palin so memorably puts it. The initial plan was to reimburse physicians for talking to patients and families about planning for end of life care. I thought, great, we will get paid for something we already do. Then politics got in the way. Now we won't get this little bonus for doing something that's right and which we do anyway.
If you don't think talking about end of life care and Advanced Directives is important, read this article in the NY Times. It's a heartbreaking story about what can go wrong when everybody involved tries to be a hero to the detriment of the patient.
No comments:
Post a Comment