A patient advocate group is greatly concerned that hospitals may be deliberately hastening the death of patients.
A survey conducted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) questions whether penalties for hospital readmission and other factors might cause hospitals to hasten the death of patients. The survey finds most people do not know patients who were placed on "terminal sedation" and denied fluids and nutrition.
However, as Dr. Jane Orient of the AAPS tells OneNewsNow, a majority of those surveyed believe Medicare's punishment for hospital readmission may be the cause of some patients' early death.
Of those surveyed, "17 percent said they did have first-hand knowledge of patients who were placed on terminal sedation with denial of fluids and nutrition when, in the doctor's opinion, they could have recovered with aggressive treatment," Orient details.
The survey was launched after one individual heard that a patient who had been relatively healthy was near death.
"She came back from a trip and found that someone who was usually in very good shape was near death in the hospital, being treated with terminal sedation," Orient notes. "[She] managed to stop this, and the patient recovered and did fine afterward."
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons was founded in 1943 to protect against government takeover of medicine.
Contact: Becky Yeh
Source: OneNewsNow.com
