Of course they didn't find a link.

[curious george]

Most Medically oriented press releases fall into the, "Move along folks, nothing to see here" category.

Ah-ha! So perhaps the problem is not with the Doctors, but with the press?

[James Deuce]

Ah-ha! So perhaps the problem is not with the Doctors, but with the press?

It's a combination of an entrenched society wide culture that Doctors are "special", and a medical PR culture that supports hiding medical mistakes. I think we need a more open culture for both Doctors and Society in general, and the relationship should be more like a mechanic. Less punitive punishment for Doctors when they do make a mistake either by accident or omission might lead to a culture of communication and learning by your mistakes, rather than manipulating information and communication with the patient base.

Of course this all requires that people understand Death and Dying a little better and that people accept that they themselves are going to die. Attempting to save a mortally injured or terminally ill family memebr is all about the people who will be left behind and not at all about the best interests of the person dying. Medical ethics need to be reviewed as well. Just because the body can be sustainded doesn't mean it should be. I'd also like to see Doctors own up to the fact that they euthanase the elderly on a regular basis.

[curious george]

Of course this all requires that people understand Death and Dying a little better and that people accept that they themselves are going to die.

Yup, no problem, next time I talk to a grieving family, I'll say they had it comming anyway....

Medical ethics need to be reviewed as well. I'd also like to see Doctors own up to the fact that they euthanase the elderly on a regular basis.

Medical ethics are constantly reviewed, re-reviewed and things do change depending on the view of society at the time, it can seem a bit slow to change sometimes though..
There is quite a big difference between actively killing somebody, and not providing life support indeffinately..but I think you summed that up with "Attempting to save a mortally injured or terminally ill family memebr is all about the people who will be left behind and not at all about the best interests of the person dying."

[MSTRS:Me]

Attempting to save a mortally injured

Not defending doctors here, but isn't an injury 'mortal' only if the injured person actually dies?

[James Deuce]

Yup, no problem, next time I talk to a grieving family, I'll say they had it comming anyway....

It is NOT the Doctor's role to educate people at that point. You still have the little toad switch in the "On" position.

Western Judeo-Christian belief systems (I'm talking cultural flavour, not religion) has established a denial approach to the concept that one day you will die. Part of the problem is of course that people live so long now, and infant mortality rates are so low, that barring accidents, deaths of family members are decades apart instead of a regular occurrence. People don't develop the mechanisms to accept death as a part of being alive, so they get "surprised" every time it happens.

I think the ethics of life extension through transplant technology or mechanical aids is 40 years behind the technology and the societal attitudes to death.

[Hitcher]

While it's nice at times to pick on spin doctors for being "economical with the truth", there are times when this is defensible -- such as when there are matters of personal privacy at stake, significant commercial impacts associated with incomplete or inaccurate information or, even worse, when lawyers are involved or circling. Although ACC legislation affords a high degree of protection to medical practitioners in New Zealand, it is still possible to sue them. In these circumstances it is understandable that they may wish to protect their arses in public.

[MSTRS:Me]

Although ACC legislation affords a high degree of protection to medical practitioners in New Zealand, it is still possible to sue them. In these circumstances it is understandable that they may wish to protect their arses in public.

Yes, but in practice it is all but impossible to get the case to court and/or win. In this country at least, the medical profession closes ranks and despite all the differing opinions as to treatments etc, they will collectively protect themselves against the uneducated savage(s) that dares to question them.