Can you see what a disaster this could be for patients? F
(click link to read entire article)First few lines of the article:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- Under a proposed HHS rule the Bush administration plans to promulgate in its final days, any healthcare worker who morally objects to any medical procedure or service can legally refuse to perform it or take part in any way.
Unlike older "provider conscience" laws, which deal largely with the behavior of physicians and nurses, the new rule would apply to any employee who has a hand in the healthcare delivery process, including menial tasks such as washing medical instruments.
Such workers could legally object to performing their duties if the utensils were to be used in a way the worker deemed morally objectionable.
==========
Article comment:
"The way this reads to me is that if I, as a nurse, had a patient who required resuscitation, for instance, and I had a "moral objection" to doing it, then I could refuse to do the procedure. It does not appear that I would need any specific reason. On this basis, it appears that I could refuse to resuscitate anyone because they were, for example, too old, had a communicable disease, were "too sick to live" or any other reason I wanted to dream up. This frankly puts the patient at risk of not receiving life-sustaining services for which he/she is paying. I am appalled."
