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Arc 25 - Regrets - Page 190
December 15, 2021

Oops. He dead.

Interesting questions regarding the Hippocratic oath in previous comments! Did you know that the oath I took upon graduation did NOT include "first, do no harm?" Here's an article about that.

There is no part of any oath that any doctor takes that says they MUST provide necessary care. In the US, EMTALA is an unfunded mandate that requires emergency departments to provide 1) a medical screening exam and 2) necessary acute stabilization prior to kicking anyone out the door, regardless of ability to pay. So, I'm sure I regularly bankrupt entire families to save their lives. In mass casualty incidents like the Las Vegas shooting, or in low resource settings like the City, doctors must suddenly ration care--people whose lives could have been saved in a time of high-resources may be untreatable during such occasions, because it will lead to the deaths of multiple other people. What do you choose?

In the City, there were no pre-existing conditions (including pregnancy) allowed, with heavy rationing of medical interventions (Toshiro's surgery was a "waste" especially after she discovered his brain tumor). Maybe Marisol is right--why should she waste her time to save one critically injured when there are likely many many other injured outside that could be saved? Granted, that's not her reasoning, but it's something to think about.


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