Replies

A interesting topic. For anyone thinking the stats should be either not collected or not made available, try expanding that idea to most other goods and services.

A book was published in 1989 describing a situation in California where a group of cardiologists started keeping records on the thoracic surgeons who were operating on their patients because of suspicious anamolies which they wanted to document. The fact that those records were being kept was discovered by a newspaper reporter, who somehow got hold of some or all of the info and ... it's been 16 years since I read the book, and don't remember details of how the lawsuits played out, other than that the cardiologists were on to something, there was a massive coverup by hospitals and a med school, and a senior cardiologist lost his job. And IIRC big payouts to some thoracic surgeons. go figure.

Gripping stuff. My power went out about half an hour ago, I have limited battery backup, and power could be off for hours or days??(I live in very isolated area) otherwise I would do some internet searches to see whats available online. I did a quick amazon search, and didn't find the book.

Title is "Heart Failure"
Author is Thomas J. Moore
ISBN is 0-394-56958-X

I'll be back. I own a copy, and if there's time I'll have a look and do a quick read to see if it's worth following up on.

Nice to have my memory jogged on that one.

For anyone thinking the stats should be either not collected or not made available, try expanding that idea to most other goods and services

The practice of medicine is unlike other goods and services on a multitude of fronts, and so it really is difficult to compare it meaningfully in this way.

The scenario that you bring forth is a prime example of a reason why this sort of information should not be publicly disseminated....in this case, it would feed those with a passion for fevered and hysterical conspiracy theories about a massive 'surgeon's cabal' intent upon killing patients instead of helping them. At the moment, the only group I'm seeing who gives credence to this sort of thing are the Islamofascists who make TV series and movies about Jewish doctors abducting Palestinian children in order to murder them for their organs, which they sell to the highest (Jewish) bidder for transplants.

In the EXTREMELY rare times in the past when there has been criminal activity of the sort that you relate, the most meaningful information that ultimately cracked the case has always come from Nurses and other doctors, not from some "reporter' who wants to win a prize or sell a book.

Raw statistics such as these are meaningless when taken out of context, and they will be eagerly distorted and misrepresented by those who either have an agenda of some sort or simply are oblivious to the realities of how modern medicine is practiced in modern hospitals, or both.