"Child sacrifice"? WTF? Anne was an elderly lady with liver disease who went to hospice to die.
This story got my interest, as I was wondering what the HELL kind of doctor was blathering on about saving "her soul"?
So here's the rest of the story (which picks up where the OP cut it off):
In today's world, many of us are willing to trade our souls for fame, wealth or even a political cause that seems so right at the time. Rarely are we confronted with the difficult choice "Ann" had to make — thank God. We doctors are able to treat the body most of the time, but true healing comes when we treat the soul as well. That's not a new idea. In fact, that idea is as old as the teachings of Hippocrates, perhaps even older than that.
Most health care workers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians' assistants, nurses, physical and occupational therapists) are in health care for just this very purpose: improving the health and quality of life for their patients. In today's business model of medical care, the act of "soul-mending" is not easy to come by. We often "sneak it in" to our care with small gestures such as volunteer community programs, financial contributions, a hug or a house call. It not only gives our patients comfort, but it makes us feel better, too. We do it quietly, thoughtfully and caringly, even though it may not be the most politically correct thing to do. We do it because often it is the most humane thing to do.
Treating the soul takes time and can rarely be done in 10- or 15-minute increments. As we turn more and more to for-profit medicine, we compromise our ability to heal the body and lose our ability to treat the soul altogether. There is no medical code for mending a broken soul. There is no business model for a non-passionate, caring hug. Yet, that often becomes more important than the prescriptions we write or the referrals we make.
As the health care debate continues in this campaign season, we need to think about those aspects of our health care that are most important. We want access to our doctors, but we want our doctors to treat us as individuals, not as cogs on an assembly line. We want our care to be affordable, which often means we need to make reasonable judgments with our doctors about what tests are truly necessary and which tests can be deferred or delayed. Lastly, we want our care to be continuous — preferably with the doctors we choose. We want to keep our health care with our doctor even if our job or insurance changes.
Good health care treats the body and the soul. Surprisingly, it is often less expensive than the "for profit" business model because it is built upon the relationship between doctor and patient. "Ann's" choice not to pursue further medical treatment because of her religious beliefs saved the health care system tens of thousands of dollars. "Ann" was not just my patient, but she was my friend and I will miss her. She died too young, but she died at peace with herself and at peace with her God. In the end, I guess none of us can do much better than that.
James Fieseher MD, FAAFP, is a resident of Portsmouth.
There ya' go: the old JW died because she basically wanted to die, and the physician had to respect her right to make that decision, due to doctrine of informed consent (and you'd bet your heinie that he had her sign documentation of her wishes, so her family couldn't sue HIM for malpractice for wrongful death).
The side benefit is she saved the health care system $$$. So you've got a $$$-based rationale, wrapped in niceties about respecting her choice, but the real TRUTH is she saved us all some $$$.
