It’s bad enough that Conservatives like Sarah Palin and Betsy McCaughey are spewing wild charges that the House health reform bill will lead to “death panels” and the premature demise of grandma. But what really gets me about these lies—so clearly aimed at frightening seniors and blocking all action on reform—is that they are being advanced in the supposed interest of protecting patients.
In McCaughey’s now legendary battle with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show she identified herself as a “patient advocate” (although most of us know her as a former Lieutenant Governor of New York, vociferous opponent of Clinton’s health care plan and a newly-resigned director of a medical device manufacturer.)
First a little background: I have been a journalist for over 20 years but recently returned to school to pursue a Master’s degree in Health Advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College. Graduates of this program go on to take a wide range of jobs; a sizable portion end up as patient advocates in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice organizations. These trained professionals value autonomy and respect for all patients first and foremost—rejecting the older, paternalistic model of medicine where the doctor always knows best.
In fact, a basic tenet of patient advocacy is making sure all patients have so-called advance directives—living wills, durable power of attorney, health proxies, and orders for life-sustaining treatment—to help guide their care. These advance directives, which are dynamic and can be amended as a patient’s condition changes, allow patients—or if they become incompetent, a designated loved one—to make meaningful choices about what kinds of care they receive.