Noted Ethicist Endorses “Fixing American Healthcare”

Posted on January 16, 2009
Filed Under Fixing American Healthcare |

DrRich is humbled to learn that Dr. James Sabin has written a very favorable review of “Fixing American Healthcare.”  Since the book was published it has garnered several positive reviews (as you can see for yourself here), but this one is especially meaningful to DrRich.

Dr. Sabin is a bona fide medical ethicist, from Harvard no less, and since DrRich has made a habit of being a little rough on medical ethicists (both here on this blog, and in the book itself), for a respected ethicist to endorse his efforts is quite gratifying. Of course, as evidenced by Sabin’s own book, “Setting Limits Fairly,” (which he co-authored with Norman Daniels), he is not the kind of ethicist DrRich complains about. That is, Sabin is no utilitarian, and does not obfuscate, or resort to those subtle twists of reasoning which serve to ensnare physicians in that place where covertly rationing against their own patients is not only deemed acceptable, but is also demanded as the only correct path. No, Dr. Sabin is one of those up-front ethicists, who tackles the rationing issue head-on, and urges us to conduct our necessary rationing openly and fairly, and lays out a process for doing it in a way that our society may actually find acceptable.

So, while DrRich may still be a little surprised that his work has been praised by an actual medical ethicist, he is proud and pleased that Sabin is the one to do so.

Readers of this blog probably know that DrRich is fairly adept at criticizing our healthcare system. That’s the nature of this blog, whose purpose, after all, is to illustrate the irreducibly destructive nature of covert rationing (so that, at some point in the future, perhaps a few more people might be willing to entertain the notion of open rationing.)  Accordingly, some of his readers will be surprised to learn that in his book DrRich not only analyzes the problems with American healthcare, but also presents a detailed and comprehensive solution. And he is especially gratified that Dr. Sabin found this the strongest part of the book:

“While each of the ten chapters is replete with pearls of insight, I was especially impressed with chapter 9 - “How to Ration Healthcare.” DrRich presents the best thought out practical framework for rationing that I’ve seen. He uses comprehensible mathematical formulae to show how clinical evidence and core values can be factored into decision-making in a systematic manner.”

DrRich certainly does not expect all his readers to go out and buy his book, not even after Dr. Sabin has endorsed it. But he does hope that they will at least read this review, since a) reading the review is free, and b) it is just one click away.

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