A healthcare imprimatur of sorts for the outgoing Bush Administration?  The current lame-duck president’s ‘Patients’ Right of Conscience’ regulation, which proposes that healthcare providers may withhold services based upon their moral beliefs, would probably do more to hurt patients than help — even those religious conservative patients who are the regulation’s intended targets.  Unsurprisingly, the major medical associations have swiftly come out against such proposed actions, citing patient safety — especially in emergency cases.

The definitions of “health care service program” and “health care service,” to which an individual can find a moral objection, are very broad and potentially impinge on a patient’s access to needed health care services. The preamble states that “health care service program” should be understood to include any activity related in any way to providing medicine, health care, or any other service related to health or wellness, and that “health care service” means any service so provided.

On the flip, orgs like the Christian Medical Assn. and the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops come at this from the angle of reproductive rights.

…”The regulations reportedly under consideration at Health and Human Services apparently would simply protect the right for all healthcare professionals to make professional judgments based on moral convictions and ethical standards. Protecting this right also protects patients who choose their physicians based on life-affirming values.”

It’s quite a bold step for a legislative body, once again, to propose such regulatory stipulations, when providers (who are already well-regulated licensed professionals) have to accede to such obviously political ones. | LINK | ADDITIONAL LINK to HHS new rule proposal

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. Easily Rescinded Bush Healthcare Policies at the Top of Obama’s ‘To-Do’ List Today at Barack Obama’s swearing in, no sooner will his...
2. For Young Adults, Playing Doctor Has a Whole New Meaning A 19-year old who uses vigorous exercise to sweat off...
3. Oregon Lawmaker Proposes More Patient Choice within Current Scope of Reform Proposal With all of this healthcare policy news dominated by the...
4. Op-Ed: A Modest Proposal for the Reform Debate In an opinion piece in this week’s Newsweek, an economist...
5. Primary Care Doctors Try to Incorporate Meaning of Reform Bill into Their Practices At the beginning of President Obama’s second term three months...