Igros Moshe (Choshen Mishpat II #75.6) Question: Doctors don’t know how to cure patient should he be treated anyway?Answer It is obvious that he needs to be attended to so that he lacks nothing for what remains of his life. He should not be abandoned but he needs to be under the care of expert doctors to assure that he is fed properly and he lives the best he can for his remaining years and that he doesn’t die prematurely. It should not be viewed that there is no benefit to continue living. He therefore needs to be treated for those conditions which are curable and thus extend his life to the degree possible. Life and death are in G-d’s hands and one should not give up hope because of the evaluation of doctors. Therefore he should be given what is good for him as well as some medical treatment so that he doesn’t give up hope. There isn’t anything more harmful than giving up hope.
When training in medicine, you're taught a process - history, physical, tests, diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes it doesn't work that way. A patient comes into the ER in cardiac arrest. Well history, physical and tests are no longer the priority, rather it's resuscitation and then figure out what happened.
And that's really hard for some doctors because the regular process is so ingrained in training, the first thought is "Hmmmm, I wonder why this person doesn't have a heartbeat" instead of "Get the defibriilator."
In cases like this, it's the same thing. You've done the job, can't figure out what's wrong but you still have to ensure the patient is treated properly.