High number of C-sections may be due to monetary considerations
The rate of Caesarean sections in the US may be high because it is more profitable for doctors
A new health-care study has suggested that the rate of Caesarean sections in the US may be high because it is more profitable for doctors. The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, compared cases involving patients who were themselves qualified doctors with cases of non-doctor patients. The researchers theorized that the operating doctor would be less likely to suggest an unnecessary C-section to an educated patient. Gynaecologists were 10% less likely to suggest a C-section to doctor-patients than non-doctor patients.
“Obstetricians appear to be treating their physician patients differently than [they treat] their non-physician patients,” said co-author Erin Johnson, of MIT. The researchers stressed that gynaecologists may not even be aware of the influence of the monetary incentive. Rather, they claim, it plays a subconscious, but significant, role in decision-making.
Xavier Symons
Creative commons
Caesarean sections
professional conduct
- Queensland legalises ‘assisted dying’ - September 19, 2021
- Is abortion a global public health emergency? - April 11, 2021
- Dutch doctors cleared to euthanise dementia patients who have advance directives - November 22, 2020
More Stories
BioEdge has closed its doors
After 23 years, BioEdge ceased published in May 2024. Not that there isn't lots to report on and talk about,...
How liberal are American bioethicists?
There is growing acknowledgement of the fact that the backgrounds, ideas, and politics of American academics are out of step...
Doctors can be socialized to cooperate in morally despicable evil, says bioethicist
Bioethicist Carl Elliott seems to relish stirring up fellow bioethicists and the medical profession. In his latest book, The Occasional Human...
3 sperm donors from same family in Quebec have sired 600 children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children by offering free sperm on the...
American IVF clinics are happily offering sex selection
The United States is one of the few countries where IVF sex selection is legal – and it is a...
Owner of castration website in UK found guilty of grievous bodily harm
“Enhancement” normally connotes adding powers beyond normal human functioning. However, there are dark kinds of enhancement which remove them. A...