Russell Whitaker sees sections of the medical profession’s distaste for accessable services for what it really is
From the “I saw this on Fox News several weeks ago but just got around blogging about it now” department, comes another tale of indignation, this time from the medical guild.
In an article transcription of a TV news feature featuring an adversarial interview of obstetrician Dr. Leon Hansen, founder of Fetal Foto versus Dr. John Hobbins, one of a stable of media medical expert witnesses who hew to the usual AMA trade unionist line.
Fetal Foto is a shopping mall medical imaging service. It’s apparently harmless, and lets prospective parents get a real head start on boring their friends with their family photo albums. Dr. Hobbins is incensed that Dr. Hansen is providing it on the cheap:
The high-tech scan, which isn’t covered by insurance, costs $60 at a Fetal Fotos facility and $280 at his doctor’s office, according to Hansen.
But the trend has angered the FDA and other critics, who argue it’s exploitative and dangerous and is commercializing a sensitive medical procedure.
“Here’s a group that’s using this wonderful technology to put bucks in their pockets,” said Dr. John Hobbins, head of obstetrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
What really angers Dr. Hobbins and his cronies is that the bucks are lining someone else’s pockets, and in a shopping mall of all places. As Fetal Foto’s Dr. Hansen notes:
“Twenty years ago, they felt it was inappropriate to have a pregnancy test available to the general public,” he said.
Other shopping mall boutique medical success stories include adult whole-body imaging service AmeriScan, which rightfully claims to have contributed to the saving of a number of lives through early diagnosis of various ailments, e.g. male colon cancer.
The Fetal Foto business model explicitly excludes medical diagnosis – it most vehemently is not in the diagnosis or treatment businesses, by charter – but this is not what bothers the boys in the AMA.
No, what riles the unionists is that they have no control over the use of an interesting medical procedure used for non-medical purposes. They’re embittered by the fact that, after all, medical people provide services that people want, and some people are willing to take those services to what they and other “public health” gatekeepers revile as among the worst venues in the capitalist world, the modern bazaar of the American shopping mall.
After all, it boils down to tired arguments of guild protectionism and class warfare with these people. Long live the crass temples of capitalism!
Russell Whitaker
I think it is great that this service is being offered to families who just want ‘a look’ at their baby. I live in Canada, where most ultrasound places will not even tell you the sex. The techs are often rude if you ask a question, even though I know they are just trying to concentrate in order to do their jobs.
As expectant parents, my husband and I were really looking forward to this first glimpse of our child, and were very disappointed that :
a) my husband was not allowed in the room for the first 25 minutes
b) after she had finished and brought in my husband for a quick peek, the tech would not tell us what body parts we were looking at or answer questions when we said ‘is that a foot?’ etc.
c) we only got one photo, which we had to beg to get, and even then, we paid for it ,and it was a very bad shot. Depending where you go, some places give you no pictures, some 1, some 5 and some you pay, some you don’t…there is no standard
d)she was very rude when we asked to know the gender and accused us of being bad parents for wanting to know (we didn’t care either way, we were just excited to have a baby)
We had 3 ultrasounds, (you usually only get one, but we had one to get a due date early on, and another routine one, then one more because we went to a new doctor who wanted an updated one)and all three were the same, even though we went to 3 different places.
So, I think it is great that these places are opening up across the states, allowing husbands and other family members to see what is happening in there, and providing photos and videos to share with others. The people operating these places will surely be more friendly and understand about a parents’ excitement on their upcoming child and their need to know all about what’s going on inside them. The regular clinic techs seem to forget the joy and wonder of a pregnancy.
I only wish they had one of those places here in B.C. Whoever opens one will make a fortune, and expectant parents will be happy. Everyone wins, as far as I’m concerned, and if they aren’t giving any medical diagnosis, then doctors shouldn’t be upset.
I’m VERY excited about the idea of having photos of my grandbaby. Our daughter has been thru alot to get pregnant, thanks to IVF she is 27weeks this will most likely be her only pregnancy and to have these precious photos are wonderful. I can’t wait until she has them made. I can’t understand why you are so against this. All I can say is “Thank God for Technology” Now we will have a priceless video
to show our little one as he gets older. How neat is that?
Keepsake videos rendered at non-medical facilities, such as Fetal Fotos, is a true abuse of technology and is only in place to make money. When physicians move into entrepreneurial roles, as Dr. Hansen has, the quality of care rendered suffers. Physicians and pregnant women should be working together to ensure the best pregnancy outcome and this includes avoiding unnecessary and unindicated exposures to ultrasound.