Should old folks who have lived their lives be allowed to place a huge economic burden on the young by using a disproportionate amount of limited Medicare resources for medical care?
Historical perspective on how some sites and means of professional caregiving became high or low status helps us understand trends in poor care continuity in US health care.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(9):E822-829. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.822.
Cultural failure to recognize tacit knowledge explains why credential-based knowledge has higher status and prioritizes clinicians who do not care on an hour-to-hour basis for most of our country’s elders.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(9):E883-889. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.883.
The Moseley study found no significant difference between those in the arthroscopic lavage and debridement arm of the study and those in the sham surgery arm.
It would be unwise medically, economically, or ethically to ignore medical details and rely instead on crude placeholders such as age in attempting to use resources most efficiently and effectively.
Elderly persons should not be excluded from participation in clinical trials for cardiovascular drugs since that population comprises the largest number of patients with cardiovascular disease.