Patient-oriented medicine is not profit motivated
It’s very concerning that doctors and patient care appear to be secondary to the administration and the importance of money at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at RiverBend Hospital. What else are we to think when hospital administrators publicly admit they are going to make decisions without the input or concerns of doctors and other medical staff, especially regarding emergency services? It’s unbelievable and downright scary to think these are the current priorities of those who run RiverBend.
It is obvious the dismissal of the organization that has provided excellent medical staff for 35 years is being replaced by a corporation that will run it with business concerns being primary. This Georgia company’s interests are to make a profit (what else would you expect of a private corporation? That’s what they are supposed to do). The common ways to do that are to cut corners where they can, operate with as little staff as possible, put profits ahead of best services and hope the investors like what they are doing running their business.
The question is: Are we willing to accept this as a substandard model? If a business is not up to snuff, managers have to answer to a board and shareholders. If a hospital is not up to snuff, it should answer to patients and the families who are left with the consequences of mistakes made. Why are we willing to accept this business model when what’s needed is an excellent, patient-oriented medical model the standard for which is excellence, not profit?…