Doctor turns away sick baby over money

It's hard to say exactly which categories this story falls under on the key for this blog, but it may take the putrid core of America's broken health care system to entirely new levels.

In Staten Island, a violently ill 10-month-old baby was turned away by a doctor's office because her mom didn't have enough money to pay upfront before the child was treated. This after the doctor had already told her on the phone to bring the child in. The doctor later admitted turning her away.

A small number of far-right ideologues are quick to defend the pediatrician. They've even attacked the infant's mother for grabbing the child's medical records and walking out - using the bogus argument that the records belong to the doctor. (The records actually belong to the patient - or in the case of a minor, the patient's parents.) But none of this would even be an issue if America had universal health care like all other industrialized countries.

The Hippocratic Oath says doctors shall do no harm. Physicians swear to this oath. To reject a patient for not paying upfront raises serious questions as to whether the Hippocratic Oath is being followed.

If a doctor is off-duty and happens to see somebody in a public place in need of immediate medical attention, the doctor jumps right into action - without asking to be paid first. Why should an emergency be treated any differently at the doctor's office? Physicians usually bill patients after the visit - not before.

(Source: http://www.silive.com/eastshore/index.ssf/2009/10/sick_baby_is_turned_away_by_do.html)