Ethical issue in the news July 2015
Multimillionaire doctor who plunged hundreds of patients into bankruptcy by falsely diagnosing cancer and giving them unnecessary chemo is jailed for 45 YEARS.
News
Dr Farid Fata of Michigan, U.S. intentionally prescribed over 9,000 unnecessary injections and infusions to at least 553 patients over a six-year span. These treatments amounted to nearly $35 million in insurance billings. Victims, many of whom did not actually have cancer, suffered severe side effects, e.g., organ damage, loss of dentition, loss of limbs, some even lost their homes and jobs, and were forced into bankruptcy in order to pay for the false treatments.
My reaction to this news
I lost someone I loved very much to cancer, …show more content…
The expression ‘Primum Non Nocere’ has long been invoked, and it is often thought that the very least that doctors can do is to refrain from harming patients. I understand that, when considered properly, Primum Non Nocere is very demanding and, when taken literally, greatly reduces treatment options. Therefore, imposing harm upon patients in the context of treatment is tolerated if it: is likely to yield benefits that are of at least the same level of magnitude as the harm they involve; represents the available treatment option with the most favourable profile for the patient’s interests; and the patient has validly consented to the imposition of …show more content…
One patient, who did not have cancer was actually told by Fata that she did have cancer. Fata reassured her that they had caught the cancer early but that she would need “a lifetime maintenance dose of chemotherapy.” Unfortunately, this patient was just one of many who have suffered such horrific mistreatment. Other patients were said to have late and aggressive cancer that would not have benefited from chemotherapy. Some were even take out of hospice care to undergo chemotherapy again. The magnitude of harm was unjustifiable by reference to the magnitude of benefit. Therefore, these patients suffered painfully and unnecessarily at the hands of Fata’s impure paternalism until the end of their
Multimillionaire doctor who plunged hundreds of patients into bankruptcy by falsely diagnosing cancer and giving them unnecessary chemo is jailed for 45 YEARS.
News
Dr Farid Fata of Michigan, U.S. intentionally prescribed over 9,000 unnecessary injections and infusions to at least 553 patients over a six-year span. These treatments amounted to nearly $35 million in insurance billings. Victims, many of whom did not actually have cancer, suffered severe side effects, e.g., organ damage, loss of dentition, loss of limbs, some even lost their homes and jobs, and were forced into bankruptcy in order to pay for the false treatments.
My reaction to this news
I lost someone I loved very much to cancer, …show more content…
The expression ‘Primum Non Nocere’ has long been invoked, and it is often thought that the very least that doctors can do is to refrain from harming patients. I understand that, when considered properly, Primum Non Nocere is very demanding and, when taken literally, greatly reduces treatment options. Therefore, imposing harm upon patients in the context of treatment is tolerated if it: is likely to yield benefits that are of at least the same level of magnitude as the harm they involve; represents the available treatment option with the most favourable profile for the patient’s interests; and the patient has validly consented to the imposition of …show more content…
One patient, who did not have cancer was actually told by Fata that she did have cancer. Fata reassured her that they had caught the cancer early but that she would need “a lifetime maintenance dose of chemotherapy.” Unfortunately, this patient was just one of many who have suffered such horrific mistreatment. Other patients were said to have late and aggressive cancer that would not have benefited from chemotherapy. Some were even take out of hospice care to undergo chemotherapy again. The magnitude of harm was unjustifiable by reference to the magnitude of benefit. Therefore, these patients suffered painfully and unnecessarily at the hands of Fata’s impure paternalism until the end of their