Medical Diagnoses for Sale or for Political Reasons: We are all Victims

Abstract

The article discusses the implications of the actions of health care professionals who engage in unethical conduct for altruistic purposes or for pecuniary gain. It analyzes the highly publicized news story where parents allegedly paid a lot of money to get their children admitted to colleges, including engaging the services of psychologists who created fake diagnoses of learning disabilities. It explores earlier unethical acts by healthcare professionals like physicians in Wisconsin who wrote work excuse notes for Wisconsin teachers, without any physician/patient relationship or assessments, and dentists and nurses who violated their professional ethical principles. Also discussed, is the impact of such acts on the respective professions and the potential impact on unseen victims like individuals with disabilities. The universality of the impact and the need for communal vigilance are highlighted.