Comments on: Boarding, Bed-Hiding, and Other Dangers of Appearing Poor http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2008/07/boarding_bedhid.html The Law, the Universe, and Everything Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:22:46 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: A.J. Sutter http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2008/07/boarding_bedhid.html/comment-page-1#comment-48173 A.J. Sutter Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:48:11 +0000 http://www.solove.org/archives/2008/07/boarding-bed-hiding-and-other-dangers-of-appearing-poor.html#comment-48173 What about the practice of some ERs diverting patients, so that other ERs have to pick up the slack? Couldn't that have been a reason the ER she wound up in was overcrowded, or at least a contributing factor? The "profit incentive" explanation sounds too simplistic to be plausible as the sole cause. And it's even presented in the article as a speculation. I'm concerned that regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, people recently have a tendency to apply a mechanistic, financial incentive determinism to every problem they analyze. "Doing the math" is a substitute for real inquiry. What's the evidence that this was the sole or even primary cause of this incident? What about the practice of some ERs diverting patients, so that other ERs have to pick up the slack? Couldn’t that have been a reason the ER she wound up in was overcrowded, or at least a contributing factor? The “profit incentive” explanation sounds too simplistic to be plausible as the sole cause. And it’s even presented in the article as a speculation.

I’m concerned that regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, people recently have a tendency to apply a mechanistic, financial incentive determinism to every problem they analyze. “Doing the math” is a substitute for real inquiry. What’s the evidence that this was the sole or even primary cause of this incident?

]]>