GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: BioEdge: South Korea debates the privacy of a patient’s intestines

domingo, 10 de diciembre de 2017

BioEdge: South Korea debates the privacy of a patient’s intestines

BioEdge: South Korea debates the privacy of a patient’s intestines

Bioedge

South Korea debates the privacy of a patient’s intestines

by Michael Cook | 2 Dec 2017 |

Dr Lee Cook-jong during a press conference about the wounded soldier

The escape of a defector from North Korea has ignited a bioethics controversy in South Korea.

Earlier this month, a low-ranking soldier posted in the border truce town of Panmunjom commandeered a jeep and rushed toward the heavily guarded border. He crashed the vehicle and ran through a park towards South Korea. North Korean soldiers shot at him, hitting him several times. South Korean soldiers pulled him over the border and he was rushed to a hospital.

Defections across the demilitarised zone are rare, so the defection was hot news in South Korea. The trauma surgeon who treated the defector, Lee Cook-jong, is a flamboyant figure who has often been in the news. He gave a press conference on November 15 in which he described some of the unnamed defector’s medical ailments.Dr Lee said he had found dozens of flesh-coloured parasitic worms, some as long as 27 centimetres, in the man's intestines, along with kernels of corn. This gave some insight into the health standards of North Korean soldiers. "In my over-20-year-long career as a surgeon, I have only seen something like this in a textbook," he said.

The controversy erupted when a member of the South Korean national assembly accused Dr Lee of violating the country medical privacy law and declared that he had committed a "terrorist act against someone's personality".

Kim Jong-dae, who represents a small opposition party, criticized him for disclosing personal information about patients. "Shootings at Panmunjom are well-known so it's natural the people and media pay a lot of attention but it is enough for the doctor to explain the process of the operation and the patient's condition," he wrote on Facebook.

"The drastic image of a person's body contaminated by excrement and parasites shocked our society, and the people's fear and aversion went out of control," he said. "It's not only against courtesy for the patient but also a possible violation of the Medical Law."

Unlike issues such as euthanasia or stem cell research, the bioethics of tattoos is not highly developed. However, it presents its own challenges and complexities. What if a patient shows up in emergency with "do not resuscitate" tatooed across his chest? Is that a valid advance end-of-life directive? There are so many issues here. How do the doctors know if he (let's assume it's a "he") still wants a DNR? Did he get it when he was drunk? Was it voluntary? There are so many fascinating issues -- read our preliminary report below.

On a completely different note, with Christmas drawing near, I’m making an incredibly self-interested suggestion. Why not put a copy of my recent book, The Great Human Dignity Heist: how bioethicists are trashing the foundations of Western Civilization, in someone’s stocking? It’s available through the Australian publisher, at Amazon and at Book Depository. I can’t think of a better gift!