Trusting Doctors

Found a disturbing article today: “Medical atrocities did not end with Nazi era,” about the role physicians played in the rise and reign of the Nazi Party. Its primary source is Dr. Yoel Abells, a Toronto family doctor and a medical ethics columnist. The article is worth reading in its entirety, but the following jumped out at me:

One fact Abells found particularly disturbing was that doctors joined the Nazi Party in greater numbers than other professionals.

Almost half of all doctors were members of the Nazi Party, he said, compared with only a quarter of lawyers or musicians, and to the 9 per cent of the German population as a whole.

Joining Nazi groups, he said, was “intoxicating” for many doctors because of the power over life and death it gave them.

Today, Abells said, a disturbing number of doctors continue to be involved in genocidal campaigns, terrorist organizations, torture and the interrogation of prisoners of war.

The collusion of the medical profession with the State is certainly nothing new. And sadly, it is not all that surprising. Intuitively, the public trusts its doctors and others perceived as “public servants” more than it trusts, say, its lawyers or ad men. (The popular TV show “Mad Men” is a perfect example of capitalization on our distrust of the capitalist-minded. Can you think of a show that would portray doctors in a similar light?) With so many people putting blind faith in government bureaucrats to foster the public good, it’s hardly surprising to see the two entities take advantage of the public’s trust to merge and consolidate power.

With increasingly socialized health care, we are already seeing the results of entrusting life-and-death decisions to doctors when it comes to the allocation of scarce resources. The organ transplant waitlist disaster is the most salient example, but we are most likely to see this problem wherever healthcare is rationed—excuse me—universally provided, such as in Canada or England. Instituting universal health care would only further empower doctors to decide who lives or dies.

Also see “Doctor–Patient Relations in Nazi Germany and the Fate of Psychiatric Patients,” an article from Psychiatric Quarterly.