[bruce511]

In one sense your comment is accurate - hospitals exist to "do something". And yes, in the US the hospital us part of a for-profit health system.

But your comment is not limited to hospitals. It's true for every business. If I sell an ice-cream my interest ends after you pay for it. Equally I'm not going to withhold ice-cream from overweight people - my job is to sell ice-cream.

If the hospital was a non-profit, and they felt there was no viable appropriate medical intervention, and they sent the patient home with no action you'd likely complain about that too. (I would, I go to hospital with an expectation that they'll at least try to fix me.)

It's somewhat trite to blame the profit motive, partly because that encompasses all of us, and partly because hospitals and doctors are primed for action, not inaction.

[lucianbr]

> partly because that encompasses all of us, and partly because hospitals and doctors are primed for action, not inaction.

This does not in any way justify pushing a patient into action when action may not be the best course for them.

[trimethylpurine]

I don't think that's what the previous commenter implied.

Especially in this case, that's not what happened.

Patient was facing a very painful, certain, and more immediate death. Or with surgery the patient might live long enough to discover that the tumor is benign and continue with a decent quality of life.

Action objectively offered a chance of survival that a lack of action could not.

I'd argue that even though it wasn't the outcome he hoped for, the author lived long enough to write this piece because the doctor pushed for action.

I think that fairly well removes profit from consideration. The doctor made the best call from every angle given the facts presented, in my opinion.

[alexashka]

> But your comment is not limited to hospitals. It's true for every business

Yes, the problem being wide-spread in no way diminishes it.

You can apply your logic to slavery and realize it works just as well. Look, everyone's buying and selling slaves, it's true for every business - it's somewhat trite to blame slavery, etc, etc.

[pirate787]

Actually a majority of hospitals in the US are not-for-profit.