TY - JOUR
T1 - The autopsy
T2 - A professional responsibility in assuring quality of care
AU - Burton, Elizabeth C.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Forty years ago, the value of autopsies was widely recognized as new diseases were discovered or clarified and scientific technology advanced greatly. Despite the autopsy's strong foundation, its value is not currently being properly conveyed to physicians or patients. Although autopsy-related policy exists, these policies have had little effect on increasing or even maintaining adequate autopsy rates. More recently, the autopsy has fallen on hard times, with US hospital rates now below 5%. The reasons for the decline in rates are multifaceted and include a lack of direct reimbursement for the procedure, lack of defined minimum rate standards, overconfidence in diagnostic technology, and the fear of litigation. Regardless of the reasons for the declining rates, the ethical and professional reasons for increasing the number of autopsies are far more important.
AB - Forty years ago, the value of autopsies was widely recognized as new diseases were discovered or clarified and scientific technology advanced greatly. Despite the autopsy's strong foundation, its value is not currently being properly conveyed to physicians or patients. Although autopsy-related policy exists, these policies have had little effect on increasing or even maintaining adequate autopsy rates. More recently, the autopsy has fallen on hard times, with US hospital rates now below 5%. The reasons for the decline in rates are multifaceted and include a lack of direct reimbursement for the procedure, lack of defined minimum rate standards, overconfidence in diagnostic technology, and the fear of litigation. Regardless of the reasons for the declining rates, the ethical and professional reasons for increasing the number of autopsies are far more important.
KW - Autopsy
KW - Autopsy rates
KW - Ethics
KW - Health care policy
KW - Health care quality assessment
KW - Health care quality assurance
KW - Quality of health care
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U2 - 10.1177/106286060201700203
DO - 10.1177/106286060201700203
M3 - Article
C2 - 11941995
AN - SCOPUS:0036519246
SN - 1062-8606
VL - 17
SP - 56
EP - 60
JO - American Journal of Medical Quality
JF - American Journal of Medical Quality
IS - 2
ER -