Hypocritical Oath: Money, Values and Medical Treatment

Abstract

The following paper is the first of our Best-Of Student Research. Papers considered for publication must be researched, including all data collection, by a student in the School of Business at Utah Valley State. The paper must also be accepted and presented at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) or another academic conference.  This paper was supervised by Dr. K. S. Whelan-Berry.

The Hippocratic Oath pledges, in part, that all doctors "apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required... " The oath is apparently forgotten, yet the popular press and some movies or books often portray doctors as refasing to treat patients due to their inability to pay. This paper investigates this portrayal, and finds that in the sample of doctors interviewed for this paper, none had refused to treat a patient because of their inability to pay, but had refused to treat patients for other reasons. The values that doctors feel are currently driving or should drive the American healthcare system are also discussed.