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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 DateComment
1.Tue, 3/13/07 10:56 PMOne could control for patients with DNR orders in the calculation of rates.
2.Tue, 3/13/07 11:00 PMon the situations involved, whether the procedures are palliative or restorative, etc.
3.Tue, 3/13/07 11:31 PMEthical problem and COI depending on how being "judged" effects his behavior.
4.Wed, 3/14/07 12:16 AMif 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 AMthis 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 AMwhy 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 AMNot enough info to decide
8.Wed, 3/14/07 2:57 AMOn 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 PMI 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 PMI 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 PMseems more of an ethical issue
12.Wed, 3/14/07 6:08 PMDr. Jones should be allowed to practice medicine based on his perception of professional risk
13.Thu, 3/15/07 5:05 PMNot Sure
14.Fri, 3/16/07 2:35 PMIt 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 PMMore info needs to be provided to answer this.
16.Mon, 3/19/07 12:13 AMDepends on the need and risk of surgery
17.Mon, 3/19/07 4:17 PMPerhaps, he is being judicious and not performing unnecessary surgery that can be harmful
18.Mon, 3/19/07 5:30 PMAre these two facts related?
19.Tue, 3/20/07 5:02 AMthis 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 PMIf 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 PMIt depends on the types of surgeries he performs and the expected rate of complications requiring resussitation.
22.Mon, 4/23/07 3:41 PMIt depends on why he refuses to operate on DNR patients.
23.Tue, 4/24/07 9:49 PMThere 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 PMTo 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 PMIf 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 PMif surgey is indicated it would be a serious conflict
27.Fri, 4/27/07 5:38 PMMay be unethical but not a COI
28.Mon, 4/30/07 11:16 PMI don't understand this scenario.
29.Tue, 5/8/07 3:29 PM....
30.Wed, 5/9/07 1:02 PMIt 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.