The Need for Lawyers in Modern Healthcare

Healthcare, in its most basic context, can be viewed as an essential human right, and as such, certain standards must be upheld within healthcare if the best interests, and indeed the very lives of patients are to be protected. Thankfully, the presence of lawyers has helped to protect the public from the flaws and shortcomings of the healthcare system. With this statement in mind, solid, logical arguments can be made to validate the role of lawyers in the modern healthcare system and beyond.

The Present State of Healthcare

Organized healthcare enjoys a distinct advantage over the patient from several points of view; generally speaking, doctors and hospitals hold the power to decide whether a patient lives or dies, and as such, the tendency of the patient in the past was to relinquish all rights in the pursuit of being cured of a disease or recovering from trauma (Annas, 1989). This has put the patient, ironically enough, in the dangerous position of having no protection and basically taking a gamble with their wellness and survival. Beyond this surrender on the part of the patient, the true motives of the healthcare industry have degraded to an all out pursuit of profits over the provision of the best care that is humanly possible. In the pursuit of a fat bottom line, healthcare has cut staffing to bare minimum levels, compromised care to lethal levels in many cases, and the like. This is proven by the outrageously high number of fatalities from preventable complications such as infections, caregiver error, substandard facilities, and deliberate negligence (Forsythe, 2000). In the midst of this healthcare crisis, fortunately, lawyers have stepped forward to provide an improved view of healthcare-as it should be.
The Lawyer's View of How Healthcare Should Be