Do No Harm...PODay 135

Hippocrates, Greek physician circa 400 BC, is often referred to as the father of western medicine. While it is hard to separate fact from fiction about him, he is credited with being the author of the Hippocratic oath which physicians and other medical professionals still swear to today. Hippocrates was one of the first to believe that disease was a natural development, not a condition caused by gods or superstition. In spite of that, the Hippocratic oath calls on a variety of ancient healing gods to support the physician in striving to adhere to ethical standards in the treatment of patients. He is commonly associated with the phrase "do no harm" which is not part of the oath and not a part of his known writings and probably originated much later in the 19th century.

Through history and prehistory, medicine has striven to establish standards of care. One of the earliest records of  guidelines for the medical care giver was established as part of Hammurabi's Code. Hammurabi, a Babylonian King in 1772 BC, established the code which consists of prescribed punishments for societal misdeeds from contract law to murder. It is possibly the father of the "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"  moral prerogative. Scaled punishments were linked to social status, particularly slave versus free man. Most of the law related to business transactions like wages, fines for doing a poor job, or damages for failure to fulfill a contract.

Of particular interest is the section of the law that deals with the practice of medicine which was regulated by the state. Malpractice was recognized and specific penalties were laid down. "If a surgeon performs a major operation  on an 'awelum' (nobleman), with a lancet and caused the death of this man, they shall cut off his hands." Hammurabi also specified fees for life saving operations; ten shekels of silver for treating a nobleman, five shekels for a poor man and two shekels for a slave.

 I guess the modern physician does not have it so bad after all. While malpractice insurance can be thought of as brutal, it is not as draconian as Hammurabi's Code.




http://youtu.be/cmjrTcYMqBM


Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems, August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, Octobe