Should The State Pay Extra To Provide Special Medical Procedure For Religious Patient

[denuseri]

If you do a simple google search you will be hard pressed to find too much about the new improvements in bloodless surgery, wikipedia only has info about the original bloodless system as it was invented by Dr Lorenz that does indeed relay on synthetics, but a boolean search might give you better results.

Heck I think I only know about it becuase alltough I am no longer a nurse I still have access to reading the latest copies of AORN.

Its basically a more modern surgical "technique" recently developed to improve on the now outdated so called Bloodless system, which was never really truely bloodless to begin with and as you pointed out called for the use of synthetics.

It is specifically designed to overcome the need for synthetics and donnor blood and in most cases even eliminates the need of the patient to pre-donante some of their own blood before the procedure, just in case more will be needed.

In the new improvement : blood isnt wasted or lost in any kind in any kind of signifigant ammount during surgery at all, because its recovered right there on the table as it comes out instead and recycled/cleaned in the surgical suite through a simple yet inovative filtration system and pumped right back into the patient during the procedure.

It eliminates the need of using most synthetic blood replacements and the use of blood thats been degenerating slowley in the storage system from other donnors (they whole improvement was invented to combat the issues associated with synthetics and the fact that blood in storage was found to indeed go bad and loose effectivness in storage and carry all sorts of individual inhibitors when taken from a donnor to a fast recovery compared to your own being pumped right back into you).

And where the new technique is in use: its resulted in less chance of infection and faster recovery times accros the board.

Its not even all that expensive for a hospital to covernt too eaither.

[Thorne]

Its not even all that expensive for a hospital to covernt too eaither.

denuseri, it almost sounds to me like this technique is still in the development stage. How widespread is it? And do you include the training costs in the hospital's expense? After all, having to train nurses, doctors, interns, whatever, has got to be expensive in both money and time.

But regardless, this doesn't answer the question: Must the state pay the expense to cater to a person's religious beliefs when local hospitals don't provide this type of surgery? My feeling is no, of course. Not only for religious beliefs but for any other possible personal agendas. Would the state have to pay to transport a patient to a different hospital just because he didn't want black nurses attending him? Hell no! How about when a woman in labor wants a different hospital because the local one doesn't provide free coffee in their birthing rooms? In other words, where do they draw the line?

[thir]

But regardless, this doesn't answer the question: Must the state pay the expense to cater to a person's religious beliefs when local hospitals don't provide this type of surgery? My feeling is no, of course. Not only for religious beliefs but for any other possible personal agendas. Would the state have to pay to transport a patient to a different hospital just because he didn't want black nurses attending him? Hell no! How about when a woman in labor wants a different hospital because the local one doesn't provide free coffee in their birthing rooms? In other words, where do they draw the line?

As for the medical service, I must agree. But I think that is it happens to be within the normal procedure to change something to accomodate something, you should do it.

Out of curiosity I wonder if the procedure that Denuseri describs would satisfy a Jehovah witness person?

[Thorne]

As for the medical service, I must agree. But I think that is it happens to be within the normal procedure to change something to accomodate something, you should do it.

The problem in this case is that the local hospital(s) did NOT provide that particular technique, but did provide a perfectly acceptable alternative. It was ONLY the person's religious beliefs which created the problem, not the inadequacies of the hospital. Chances are the hospital will eventually include this procedure in their services, at which point that problem disappears. Until then, however, it is only the state's responsibility to provide the AVAILABLE services. If the patient wants something different it's up to HER to find it. And pay for it.

I wonder, though. Would it be possible, in this kind of case, for the state to pay the standard rate for the procedure (in that area) and make the patient responsible only for the difference in cost (including transportation)?

[thir]

In the new improvement : blood isnt wasted or lost in any kind in any kind of signifigant ammount during surgery at all, because its recovered right there on the table as it comes out instead and recycled/cleaned in the surgical suite through a simple yet inovative filtration system and pumped right back into the patient during the procedure.

Wow! Someone's been using the inside of their heads!

Thanks for the whole explanation Denuseri, it was very interesting indeed.