| 23. Dr. Jones will not operate on patients with a DNR order. Deaths during surgery are tabulated and reported, and he is judged professionally (in part) by his mortality rate. |
| # | Response Date | Comment |
| 1. | Tue, 3/13/07 10:56 PM | One could control for patients with DNR orders in the calculation of rates. |
| 2. | Tue, 3/13/07 11:00 PM | on the situations involved, whether the procedures are palliative or restorative, etc. |
| 3. | Tue, 3/13/07 11:31 PM | Ethical problem and COI depending on how being "judged" effects his behavior. |
| 4. | Wed, 3/14/07 12:16 AM | if the patient is at immediate and extreme risk if the predictable life-saving operatin is not done and no other surgeon is available |
| 5. | Wed, 3/14/07 12:18 AM | this is a conflict of interest but I believe there is a larger problem in the way that the deaths during surgery are tabulated--this is an error in the system and Dr. Jones, while not being truly beneficent is not completely base. |
| 6. | Wed, 3/14/07 12:35 AM | why does the pt w/ a DNR need surgery in the first place? will it increase life span/quality??? |
| 7. | Wed, 3/14/07 1:40 AM | Not enough info to decide |
| 8. | Wed, 3/14/07 2:57 AM | On what kind of surgery he does. If it is elective surgery I wouldn't want them to have a DNR order either. |
| 9. | Wed, 3/14/07 12:53 PM | I see some of these examples as ethical issues but not necessarily COI - depends on how you define COI - in this case - if it's defined as Dr Jones having a conflict between his desire to have a low mortality rate and the DNR order - then yes - i guess it is a serious COI issue. |
| 10. | Wed, 3/14/07 1:49 PM | I would prefer that all docs try to keep their mortality rates down. Maybe he/she is not so skilled as another. Perhps they need to have a longer window on counting deaths due to surgery if patients can be resuscitated only to die outside the OR. This is a measurement issue. |
| 11. | Wed, 3/14/07 3:35 PM | seems more of an ethical issue |
| 12. | Wed, 3/14/07 6:08 PM | Dr. Jones should be allowed to practice medicine based on his perception of professional risk |
| 13. | Thu, 3/15/07 5:05 PM | Not Sure |
| 14. | Fri, 3/16/07 2:35 PM | It would be hard to find a surgeon who stands by this simplistic explanation. Instead you will find many various reasons not to operate, so this scenario is too hypothetical and may actually be not a conscious decision in some cases. |
| 15. | Sun, 3/18/07 3:17 PM | More info needs to be provided to answer this. |
| 16. | Mon, 3/19/07 12:13 AM | Depends on the need and risk of surgery |
| 17. | Mon, 3/19/07 4:17 PM | Perhaps, he is being judicious and not performing unnecessary surgery that can be harmful |
| 18. | Mon, 3/19/07 5:30 PM | Are these two facts related? |
| 19. | Tue, 3/20/07 5:02 AM | this is not a fair assessment. he should only be compared to other doctors like himself who do not operate on patients with a DNR order |
| 20. | Mon, 4/23/07 1:12 PM | If the tabulation of data is the only reason he will not operate on patients with a DNR order, that is a serious conflict of interest |
| 21. | Mon, 4/23/07 1:29 PM | It depends on the types of surgeries he performs and the expected rate of complications requiring resussitation. |
| 22. | Mon, 4/23/07 3:41 PM | It depends on why he refuses to operate on DNR patients. |
| 23. | Tue, 4/24/07 9:49 PM | There are many factors that contribute to what patients are accepted by a physician for that physician's care and affect the practice of medicine, including non-clinical pressures, and if the Dr Jones doesn't agree with the grading system, Dr Jones shouldn't be forced to abide. |
| 24. | Wed, 4/25/07 1:28 PM | To me, this is morally repugnant, but does not strike me as a conflict of interest, if there are other surgeons available to do the surgery. |
| 25. | Wed, 4/25/07 5:49 PM | If someone is a DNR anyway, why will they want to go through surgery? For the most part, it is not a COI |
| 26. | Thu, 4/26/07 9:19 PM | if surgey is indicated it would be a serious conflict |
| 27. | Fri, 4/27/07 5:38 PM | May be unethical but not a COI |
| 28. | Mon, 4/30/07 11:16 PM | I don't understand this scenario. |
| 29. | Tue, 5/8/07 3:29 PM | .... |
| 30. | Wed, 5/9/07 1:02 PM | It depends on his motivation. If he does this for his mortality # then it is a serious COI. If, however, he believes that he puts these patients at risk of precipitating their death by taking them to surgery, then there is no COI. |